Having sent out a slew of invitations for an event to introduce mentoring, some of the first responders were young. As in still dating. Their texts incorporated effusive words like "love to", "honored", and exclamation points.
"Go out for coffee with an older couple? I'm in!"
Granted they do not typically bear the brunt of a household, or chase preschoolers in the grocery store. They can usually finish their mocha while it is still hot. But they are juggling homework, and part time jobs, and have been known to stay up later than old fogies like me.
John and I go out with couples a lot, and simply because we are so, shall I say, seasoned, those people are almost exclusively more spry than us. Fewer wrinkles. Less gray. But the part that astonishes me regularly is how much the hour of conversation blesses me. Oh so wise and experienced me.
Why is that?
It turns out that fresh couples remember some things that I am prone to forget. Like how MUCH they longed to sit next to this person. How endearing they find their quirks and cleft chin. They have not yet accrued a backlog of expectations, because their pinnacle of hope has come true. They are together.
The intention behind two couples spending time as a foursome is simply that they will have someone to reach out to. A friendly face who will respond quickly when they are in need.
I bought a couple of napkins at the thrift store. They are monogrammed and made of fine linen. Doubtless they have adorned a hundred dinners, a soft cradle for silver spoons. There were only these two. If there had been more I would have taken them. They rest in the basket with other napkins gathered over the years. One Christmas I wanted to fold trees for each setting and hunted for a dozen mismatched green ones. They were darling. But the reality is they are polyester and cannot absorb a
drop of spilled water.
I like my eclectic collection of napkins. When I want adorable origami trees I reach for the green. If a glass of juice topples over I am grateful for linen.
The event for mentoring was a blessing. Not only for the adorable twenty somethings, but for those who have absorbed much in their thirty years of coupleness.