He had a devilish quality that made efforts to be serious with him seem futile. He was, generally, the most frustrating and the most interesting man I'd ever met. But, I was more than a decade younger, so what did I know of men? I was a teenager. Ten years later, we married. He was still just as frustrating and interesting, but not as devilish or cavalier. He was growing up, becoming more serious.
Today, he is quite serious about many things, his ability to laugh at whatever life throws at him diminished by his concern about finances, the future, our health, his work, and his elderly widowed mother. Life has a way of getting your attention and keeping you on task.
But, away from work and duties, he becomes, sometimes for just a little while, the fun loving carefree person I knew. He still loves baiting me, making me feel silly, catching me in non sequiturs, laughing at my lack of physical coordination, and generally being a burr under my saddle. He challenges me to be better than I otherwise might be and to keep up with his blazing intellect. In return, I interpret the feelings and emotions that he is unable to comprehend in himself and others. I urge him to listen with his heart to babies and old people and animals.
He has changed physically from the young man I fell in love with, but I have changed, too. He still thinks I am beautiful. I ask him what happened to him; when I met him, he had money, muscles and a Corvette. He replies that the only consistent factor has been me. Probably real close to the truth.
To George: still funny, still too smart for my own good, still strong, still beautiful, still loved by this clumsy emotional gal. Happy birthday, my friend, my partner, my love. Many more to ya! Many more to us...
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