One of the sadnesses of hitting 50 is the growing sense of awareness that women often outlive their male partners - a fact that comes sharply into focus if and when the man in your life begins to have health problems.
How extraordinary that we can talk freely about death and dying even to the point of explaining to each other what kind of funeral we would like, and yet find it so difficult to discuss issues like erectile dysfunction which so many men are likely to encounter in middle-age, often as a result of treatment for other conditions.
How to ask how he feels about it? How to reassure? How to discuss your own feeling? How to react when he raises the subject? Suddenly those ads for Viagra don't seem so funny. I wish I could give you the answers as easily as I can pose the questions. I suspect we are embarking on a new journey and this is just the first obstacle on a road may have many more unexpected twists and turns.
With age comes greater understanding and acceptance for sure, but that wisdom is bittersweet. Love is finite and sooner or later a parting will occur. For now, that makes the present sweeter and more intense but also infinitely poignant.
The Iron Lady – Musing on Aging
3 weeks ago
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