One of the greatest joys

One of the greatest joys in my job comes from the people I meet each day. Granted, some of the people who wander into my office are difficult, at best, but most are very nice.

Two of my favorite people on the planet are an elderly man and woman who live in the community. I have become acquainted with them over the years because they volunteer in the community and are fixtures at a one-room school house museum near one of our state parks.

They have been married for 64 years and still look at each other with such love and adoration you would think they were a couple of teenagers. They stopped by today to say hello and they stayed to chat a while. They shared the story of how they met and talked some about their marriage.

In 64 years they have never had an argument. They say they normally see eye-to-eye and talk things out when they don’t. She said he has never made her cry and she has tried to never hurt him either

In a day and age when marriages rarely last beyond five years it is refreshing to meet someone whose love has grown stronger with the decades.

That’s not to say that life has always been perfect. He squinted away tears as she talked about their daughter who died of a brain tumor at the young age of eight. He barely made a noise as she talked about how you simply never get over that kind of loss. Their daughter was beautiful and smart and was loved by all who knew her. Her life was cut tragically short by an illness they couldn’t detect until it was too late.

But they stayed together, they raised three other children and, in their golden years, they seem content and in love. Clearly, what matters most to them isn’t the stuff they have accumulated over the years or the money they have. It’s the time they have together.

The way they look at each other always stops me in my tracks. It’s like that person next to them is the only person who matters, like no one could ever take their place, like there could never be enough time for them to be together and show how much they care.

You simply can’t put a value on that kind of love.