DAY 3 -- August 08 Happiness Challenge

There was the most completely adorable couple on the bus today. They were each easily 80 and very fit. He had snow white hair and wore a dark polo shirt and khakis. She was a symphony in light green -- slacks, scarf, and sweater set (even though it's August and over 80º). When they reached their stop, he rose first and held out his hand to help her from her seat. I watched them walk up the block, arm in arm, and noticed they were in step with one another. They were also chatting animatedly. They were a real matched set.

They cared about how they looked -- I assume, to remain attractive to each other. They still had a lot to say, even after what I guess is decades together. And he was so gentlemanly toward her.

Think about all the holidays they have spent together, or perhaps apart, if he served overseas. All the sleepless nights they shared, worrying first about sick little ones and then over teenagers who were out with the family car after dark. All the conversations and arguments about money. The college educations and the weddings they may have provided for. The grandchildren they have seen christened. All the election returns they watched together, perhaps having cancelled one another's votes. The parents and now friends and neighbors they have mourned.

Yet, as they walk arm in arm up the street, their eyes still meet and they still have much to say.

I don't know these two, but whoever they are, observing them brought me real joy today.