I caught up with a friend of mine who I hadn’t spoken with in a few months. He’d just returned from a weekend trip to DC with his girlfriend. When we spoke, I think he had me on speaker phone. Or else, he was relaying the conversation to her because she would jump into our discussion occasionally.
They’ve been living together for about 5 years. Although they aren’t “officially” married, they act like they are. They grocery shop together. They have dinner together. They parent her kid when he’s with them. They visit his parents on holidays. They go out for dinner with his daughter.
In other words, they act like an old married couple.
I’m happy for my friend. He’s my age. We’re past the days of seeking excitement, novelty, and thrills. Predictability, stability and mellow entertainment are more our speed.
I had this with my wife. Our lives had a lot of excitement, drama and challenges during the first half of our marriage. Then, as our careers and lives stabilized and we got older, the second half of our marriage was much calmer. I enjoyed living like an old married couple and so did she. We create a small, quiet life that was pretty wonderful.
I hope my friend and his girlfriend do too.