A Mom and George update
Yesterday I was on the road, coming back from visiting my mother and her husband George. They are getting up there in age now, George 93 and Mom 87. Married a little over six years ago, I still think of them as newly weds. Mom said the minister at there retirement facility said anyone marrying in their 80’s has a lot of courage. I was so proud of Mom for taking the risk.
Mom and George have not had the years together than many other couples their age can look back on. They only had three years in relative health before George’s lack of mobility put him in a wheelchair and the nursing facility. Mom is in her own apartment a couple of hundred steps away. They visit every day and eat at least one meal together.
What they haven’t done in years of time investment in each other (see 5. Investing for your later years – not what you think below) they have made up in other ways. George is super-generous with the compliments, telling Mom daily how beautiful she is and how much he appreciates her. He is publicly affectionate, with kisses, hugs, and hand-holding. Mom just glows in the warmth. A retired minister, he is comfortable in talking emotionally and in depth, which Mom also loves. In return, Mom takes care of George, easing his loneliness with her visits, running errands, and accompanying him on medical appointments. His confinement would be torture without my mother.
Investing in a relationship now can be like saving for retirement. It is so easy to keep putting it off for a better time, but the more you wait, the harder it gets, and the more likely it becomes that there will be nothing when you get there. Yes, putting yourself out there to date is scary, but so is spending the rest of your life alone. Think about it.
