Friday, September 16, 2011

The things you do for love (the things you do for lu-uh-uhv)

Our son, Adam, has been dating Melissa for 5 months now.  It brings back many memories of James' and my early dating days and it's amusing.  Melissa has a kitten.  I've never known Adam to be a cat person though he's not NOT a cat person either.  This week he kept her kitty at his apartment while her dorm was being worked on.  He came home tonight carrying this little cat carrier and it made me smile.  Melissa loves and rides horses.  Adam says he hates horses.  We made the mistake of taking him riding in New Zealand when he was 10 and had no training.  We think he got scared and ever since has been afraid of them.  We told Melissa tonight that he'll probably come around and like horses one day.  She said she hoped so.  What do older couples do when they talk to younger people?   They tell them stories about the good ol' days.  Poor Melissa.  Adam wasn't home yet and we had her held captive in our kitchen.

The picture blurs and we're taken back to 1987.  I was an immature 24 and James was an oh so handsome, debonaire 34.  He said he loved the opera.  I decided I would try and maybe even love it.  We went to see my first opera, Norma, in Baltimore.  I think I liked it, subtitles and all.  Maybe I loved the whole idea of it more than the opera itself.  It was new and exciting and I wanted to please him.  When we moved to St. Louis we bought tickets to a series of operas, maybe 5 or 6 for the season.  I think it lost it's appeal after 4 of them.  Maybe there was too much too soon.  I did try though.  Maybe I'll try again.

James listened to mostly classical music, I listened to pop and rock.  We both tried each other's music and liked some of it and hated probably more but we really tried, I think.  One thing we learned that we both love is musicals.  It's nice when there's a middle ground.

I grew up with animals.  You may not have guessed this but my family is crazy about animals, maybe even a little stupid about them.  James didn't grow up with inside dogs and certainly couldn't understand how we could accept a big slobbery kiss from one.  He has come to love dogs.  I doubt he likes to be kissed by them but I've seen him hold them in his lap and tell them sweet nothings as he scratches their ears and tummies.  I'm pretty sure he likes the goats too.  He also holds them in his lap.  I don't think he's faking it after 24 years.

It's funny and wonderful how we can mold ourselves, or at least attempt to, into something a bit different than what comes naturally and sometimes it fits like a glove.  Other times it doesn't but it's worth the try and sometimes might even make for a good story to tell your grandchildren.  Probably not your son's girlfriend.  I'm sure we bored Melissa to tears with our stories but it's still fun for me and James to reminisce about what it was like when we were dating. 


1 comment:

  1. Thank you for the glimpse into two generations of your family. Enjoyed picturing both your starry eyed love for your hubby and him with a goat in his lap. Now that's love.

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