Traditionally Speaking…by Pat Larsen - Mostly, we laugh.

Admittedly, being married to my high school sweetheart that has now led to a remarkable 58 years together is mostly unheard of these days.

We honestly are amazed ourselves when we’re asked about our relationship that has spanned that length of time…!

Looking back requires more thought than ever as we take that proverbial trip down memory lane. THAT in itself makes us laugh.

Things like first dates, all the proms, Junior and Senior, graduations from high school and then for me, college…followed immediately by that walk down the aisle, was quite a feat when we think about it.

But that’s not what I’m writing about today. Those who know us have recognized the depth of the relationship that we have shared but it’s the questions that we get asked that are the core of the connection that often gets the most attention.

In of itself, we became two very independent people that chose to share a life together. Mostly, we checked in with each of our goals and those things that brought us joy as we began the journey. Mind you, we couldn't even have imagined in advance what life would be like as we added 365 days a year times 58 years… LOTS of time passed and loads more experiences made up the whole enchilada that became…US!

Each of us embraced our self-sufficiency within the endeavors that we enjoyed. We brought that independence home to share with each other.

But, here’s the secret to it all…mostly, we laughed. Honestly, laughter was the magic elixir, that glue that kept even the hardest of times, the worst of moments, together. We’d look at a bill…and wondered out loud…”how the heck was this getting paid”…and so we’d let that quandary create a moment to let our true loving natures just “crack us up’...( an old term from back in the day to highlight that moment of terror we were facing).

Eeeeeehhhh, we’ll figure it out…and you know what we always did as we just laughed about possibly sitting in the dark until pay day or filling the oil tank with 5 gallons at a time to get us through a cold winter night. 

It was those younger days when the paycheck was coming from only one of us, as the other was the committed parent to the newborn that began to round out the family dynamic. Hey, the kid needed diapers…the oil tank fill up could wait. We always found ironies like that hysterical. 

So here we are, yup, older and still together for as long as the Grace of God will allow. It’s without question that we are still rolling in the aisles together.

The chuckles can be heard as a major part of our everyday life.

The expression that getting older is not for the faint of heart is finally making sense to us as we are well into our 70’s. 

If we didn’t have that lightheartedness to share, we’d never find our car keys or where we parked the car for that matter.

Recalling where we last saw the tv remote often finds us spending more of our evening looking than actually engaging in watching a tv show. And so, we laugh so hard until tears fall down our cheeks…and we love every moment of it.

Laughter was categorized by someone long ago as the BEST MEDICINE.

For us, it always was and will always be… 

Pat Larsen is a syndicated columnist who lives and works in Greene County with her husband, Chris. She continues to pursue her role in the community as the Director of Aging with Grace, bringing programs to Seniors to live their best life several times a year. Her second book, Bridges …connecting then to now is due out this Spring.

Feel free to contact Pat to share your story…she loves to hear from her readership…518-275-8686.