I thought I'd skipped that "ew" feeling kids have about their parents kissing or having sex. My parents and aunts and uncles were openly affectionate with each other when I was young. Yet it surprised me to think of my mother as dating.
Today I was complimenting my mother on what an adult relationship she has with her husband. When they started dating, my stepfather had been a widower for 5 years. His wife had cancer the last 5 years of her life. My mother had lost my father two years before, after 58 years of marriage. The last 3 years of his life, my father was dying of cancer. My mother and stepfather married six years ago when she was 79 and he was 78. They have large photos of their late spouses in their living room and don't hesitate to mention them or any activities with them.
My mother was telling me how much she wished she could have met her husband's first wife. She thinks they would have enjoyed knowing each other. Then she went on to say that she would have met my stepfather much sooner, too, but that he wasn't her type. I responded with the comment that she would have just been looking at him as a friend, but inside I was reeling at the thought of my mother looking at men for her type.
It's silly, I know, but it's thrown me as much as finding out in my late 20s that my parents in their late 40s had a better sex life weekly than my husband and I had monthly. I didn't think my mother had dated anyone other than my stepfather. However, looking back, she didn't realize they were dating until we told her. He was driving a long distance to pick her up to go to church activities in a central location, then driving her home and driving back the long distance to his home. They were talking on the phone every night, but until he sent her flowers for Christmas, she didn't know he was interested in anything but being friends. Now I'm going to have to ask her if she dated anyone else. Who knew the dating habits of 70 year olds could be so interesting?
Something for me to look forward to finding out for myself.
recommend
Facebook
Twitter
bookmark 
print
Comments: 5
Leaving my comments for Comment Games August list.
You just never know. My stepfather is different in many ways from my father. He centers everything on my mother. He cooks, cleans, repairs things, drives and watches baseball with her even though he doesn't care anything about it. I always said I'd rather be committed than married again, but if I could find a guy like him, maybe...