Sue from NC
Today I massaged Sue. She’s 75, and while she was on my table, she told me the story of how she met Dirk. It’s one of those wild, slow-burn love stories that makes you realize life moves in strange, beautiful cycles; and that the right person might not fully step into your life until years, or even decades, later. Her first husband died of colon cancer when she was 65, and Dirk’s first wife passed away from the exact same thing. Years before any of that, pure serendipity had sat Sue and Dirk right next to each other on a Delta flight. Just a casual conversation while they were both still married to other people. Nothing came of it then. But years later, Dirk showed up at her husband’s funeral because they knew each other through work. They started hanging out as friends on and off for three or four years. Eventually, Dirk fell for her, but Sue wasn't there yet. She asked for space, and Dirk, being who he is, decided he wouldn't reach out again unless she initiated it. They both dated other people. Then came another stroke of serendipity. One day, Sue sat down and made a list on a piece of paper of everything she wanted in a partner. She looked at the page and realized the paper had been describing Dirk all along. So, she sent him a Christmas card. That card turned into a date. She was 69, and he was 64. Fast forward to now: they’ve been together seven years, married for three. Sue told me that love the second time around is a completely different perspective. She said she could have never had this kind of relationship with him when they were younger, that the age, the maturity, and having already lived whole lives meant they could just be completely open with each other. It made this the best love it could naturally be. I just love love stories like that. It leaves me sitting here with this quiet feeling in my chest.
NM