About a year ago (Back in the early days, as Harry says) I had a significant emotional breakthrough in the car coming back from Home Depot. We'd bought some bookshelf boards that we (only just) managed to fit in the car and while driving home I was mentally adding "Chores" to my list of "Things That Are Different Between Young Single Love and Divorced Middle-aged Love." Yes, chores. There is too much work to do - children to tend, counsel and ferry about, houses to sell, cleaning, dog-walking, laundry, shopping and cooking - to afford much idle lying about on Sunday mornings or just "hanging out," in divorced middle age. Harry and I got into the habit of doing chores together early on. Otherwise we wouldn't have seen much of each other.
I'm trying avoid specifics of my failed marriage, but I have to explain - X and I very very rarely did anything together. (Recreational things, I mean. Doing chores together never even came up.) I remember dejectedly agreeing with him, only half in jest, that there was just no fun to be had anymore. Getting older and having children and too much work had sucked the pleasure out of everything. In the end it was a chore to come up with one single activity X and I could do that would be FUN.
In the car that day with the pine boards poking me in the back of the neck, I suddenly realized how much fun I was having and always had whatever we did together. What an amazing joy it to not only have fun going out to dinner or to a movie or on a picnic, but even doing chores!
Then blue letters flashed before my eyes: THE ACTIVITY IS IRRELEVANT. It's Harry!
And a sardonic celestial voice said in my ear "Duh."
(Posted by Sally)
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
No comments:
Post a Comment