“You are not funny!” Sal read my last post and was not pleased.

“I wasn’t trying to be.”

“Well, you better start trying. No one reads your blog for educational purposes!”

“Well,……………? Good point. But sometimes what I want to say isn’t funny.”

“Then don’t say it!”

“Bit harsh, Sal.”

“Just trying to help you grow as a human being,”

And therein lies the point of this blog. Partnership. We’ve been together now for over 55 years (I would do another 55 in a heartbeat). We’re growing together and growing to be a bit more like each other. I’m getting nicer and prettier (obviously) and Sal is getting more grouchy and sarcastic. I occasionally cook and do the dishes. Sal climbs cliffs and does plumbing. I made ice cream last week. Sal fixed her outboard. We are practically transgendering.

Of course, I am exaggerating somewhat (she is only a tiny bit grouchy maybe once every three months or so) but there is no question we are ‘kinda merging’ in some ways. Sally is actually quite funny now. Really funny! On purpose! I confess to responding first with shock and then great guffaws of laughter…….and then I am left slack-jawed in awe. Who is this woman?

Sally is the embodiment of sunshine but I have even heard her gripe about bureaucracy and computer-driven processes that make any/every person insane. I, of course, have grown faster in that regard and am close-to-insane before I even attempt to deal with anything more complicated than feeding the dogs (and that bugs me, sometimes, too). I fear the day when Sally doesn’t ‘ooh and awe‘ over a squirrel or a puppy.

Or even worse, if I start doing it!!

Living deep into your seventies is a time of change. Living deep into your seventies with one person almost every day (99.9%) is a time of surprising gratitude, reflection and change. One of us is just getting better with each passing day. The other makes good ice cream.