When it's Just the Two of Us
hobbies + daydreams
“What will we do when the kids are grown, and it’s just the two of us?”
It’s the kind of question I love to ponder, but that makes Nick flinch a little. Part serious, but mostly just a bid for connection. It’s another way of saying, “I’m excited to grow old with you.”
I’ve always wanted to be one of those couples with shared hobbies like paddle boarding or running, but I would be a terrible running partner, more irritated that I can’t control the pace or the route or be alone with my thoughts.
I posed my question on a quiet Saturday, an increasing rarity these days, and he responded rather quickly and with more certainty than usual, like maybe he had been thinking about it too.
“Pickleball.”
Pickleball!?! Of the probable responses to this question, pickleball might have been somewhere around #7,324. I think I scared him with my excitement because he jumped when I laughed and said, “Why don’t we do that now while our bodies still work?”
Nick and I like to drive around town to look at houses. We watch sunsets. We talk about current events and politics. I ask about his fantasy football teams, and he asks about my writing. In the next year, we will build a house together.
When Tatum was born, we reset the clock to an empty nest, but I still think about what Nick and I do with each other without interference from nap time and sports schedules. I picture volunteering as a NICU cuddler, taking a ceramics class, and horseback riding lessons—road trips to various bookshops, like this one, or this one, or this one. A walk across America or a hike up the PCT, and now I can add pickleball to the list.
Your Journal Prompt for Today
Post your response in the comments below or tag me on Instagram @emilykathleenwrites
Links to Ponder
I’m not at my best when… (Julie’s Pod)
A devastating loss to the world (Still We Rise)
“Certain books are best enjoyed while on a loll.” The History of the Beach Read (Deseret News)
This podcast is riveting and almost too hard to listen too. (The Retrivals)
We “quiet ones” What we can learn from artist Georgia O’Keefe (Introvert, Dear)
Give a compliment. It’ll last longer (Cup of Jo)
Ceilings… I have ideas. shhhh… don’t tell my husband. (Washington Post)
Loving this podcast about internet culture and Jar Jar Binks (The Redemption of Jar Jar Binks)
100% (Crissy Allen)
If you only have time for one thing… I’m so glad you’re still here (Shini Nova)
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