佚名/Anonymous
After 22 years of marriage, I've discovered the secret to keeping love and intimacy alive in my relationship with my wife, Peggy:I started dating another woman.
It was Peggy's idea, actually.“You know you love her,”she said one day, taking me by surprise.“Life is too short. You need to spend time with the people you love. You probably won't believe me, but I think that if the two of you spend more time together, it will make us closer.”
The“other woman”my wife was encouraging me to date is my mother, a 72-year-old widow who has lived alone since my father died 20 years ago. Right after his death, I moved 2，500 miles away to California and started my own family and career. When I moved back near my hometown six years ago, I promised myself that I would spend more time with Mom. But with the demands of my job and three kids, I never got around to seeing her much beyond family get-togethers and holidays.
She was surprised and suspicious, then, when I called and suggested the two of us go out to dinner and a movie.“What's wrong?”she asked. My mother thinks anything out of the ordinary signals bad news.
“I thought it would be nice to spend some time with you,”I said,“Just the two of us.”
“I'd like that a lot,”she replied.
As I drove to her house, I actually had a case of predate jitters!What would we talk about?What if she didn't like the restaurant I chose?
When I pulled into her driveway, she was waiting by the door with her coat on. Her hair was curled, and she was smiling.“I told my lady friends I was going out with my son, and they were all impressed,”she said as she got into my car.“They can't wait to hear about our evening.”
We didn't go anywhere fancy, just a neighborhood place where we could talk. My mother clutched my arm, half out of affection and half to help her negotiate the restaurant steps.
We had a nice talk over dinner. Nothing earth shattering, just catching up with each other's lives. We talked for so long that we missed the movie.