When we’re young and married, we expect our spouses to be with us for the rest of our lives. But as we age, our spouse may predecease us and our children grow and they may leave us alone. It is this time of our lives when we may seek the companionship of others and if we’re truly fortunate, we may find another – a friend, a companion and even another love who can share what we colorfully call the golden years of our lives. Today’s letter is from one such woman to the man who has brought color and sound back into her life.
Color & Music
For my Charlie,
I wrote this letter by hand because that is the way a letter should be written. I was going to include it in the Valentine’s Day card I gave to you, but then I saw these letters from other men and women and thought to myself that this would be a fine way to present the letter. I hope you do not mind.
I am seventy-eight years old and five years ago, just after my seventy-third birthday, I met a man who would change my life. You know that I was married to my Michael for more than forty years and we shared five children who lived and two who did not. He fought in a war across the ocean and he served closer to home during the campaign in Korea.
We shared a great many things together and I suppose that while we did not experience the great, grand passion that they write about in the romance books – our love was a deeper and more enduring one. I could always rely on him, I could always depend and I always knew that he valued me. Our marriage was firmly grounded in respect and kindness. He never betrayed me, he never raised a hand or his voice and he always gave his ear when I had something to say.
When he passed away, I felt that a good part of whom I was went with him. Our children were a comfort, but they were grown and busy with lives of their own and providing me with grandchildren to dote upon. One day was very much like another, I went through the motions of living. I went to my book club, I went to my volunteer work and I spent time working with the young children struggling to read. I enjoyed going to Church every Sunday and occasionally helping out in the Sunday school. But I did all of these things because that’s what I did before and because I had little else to do.
When I met you Charlie, you were a widower. Like me, you seemed to go through the daily motions of life but there was very little great joy in anything you did. When we shared a cup of coffee after Church one day, we found ourselves chatting about a number of little things. It was a very pleasant hour and the next week after Church, we went out to share another cup of coffee. Before I knew it, we were sharing coffee every Sunday after Church and that coffee became lunch and lunch became an afternoon.
Wednesdays we now play bingo together and sometimes on Saturdays, I’ll join you for a round of golf. I have been enjoying learning how to play the game. We’ve talked about moving closer to each other, yet we’re both enjoying the relationship that we have. I’m not alone anymore and I have someone to share what is happening in my life – you invited me to join you for a supper this Valentine’s Day and it’s the first such holiday we’ve decided to spend together.
Thank you for bringing color and music and simple joys back into my life. I look forward to many more days of light and sound.
Your friend,
Peggy
Letters of Love
You write these letters of love for the ones you love. Do you have a letter of love that you want to write to your spouse? Whether they are here in the states, sleeping next to you night after night or far away in another state or another country. Do you have a letter of love that you would like to share?
Letters of Love are a part of our 14 Days of Romance here in the Marriage Blog, we hope you enjoy them!
Related Articles:
Love Letters: Flights of Romance
Are You Too Old To Get Married?