You Must Hold Hands to Dance

My lover turned 68 yesterday.  That is not a minor thing.  One of the great surprises of my life is how meaningful it is to grow old with her.  Do not mistake that for growing old.  I don’t have a great desire to be old.  It is tough!  Growing old requires bravery, strength, untold wisdom and above all else a determination to live meaningfully in a body that continually limits that ability and often scourges you for your attempts, our hearts often pushing our bodies into living in ways they can, only with great pain and effort.  But growing old with someone whom you love more than your very life is a prospect sweeter still than youth filled vigor ever was.  And therein lies the secret of my desire to grow old with her.  Above all else growing old requires courage, the courage to face the never-ending dwindling of your physical life while joyfully finding meaning in the dance.  Growing old like dancing is best done holding hands