When you get to be old, it doesn’t take much to find something to smile about, or to find something to complain about. As my wife and I were sitting on the deck yesterday evening, enjoying a glass of wine following a couple of games of dice, both of which I lost, we talked. We’ve been together for more than fifty years. Like everyone else on the planet, we struggled with ourselves and each other. What is most surprising is what is happening to our memories. The dark storm clouds have lost their ferocity and have retreated to sit quietly in now rarely visited corners of the mind.

Maybe it is my age as it really doesn’t take much to give me peace. In the photo above, I am taking the tails and tips off garden-fresh beans my wife picked moments ago. I was taking a break from writing, Yeah, I know – what’s new. I got to be outside in the sunshine while doing something useful while not wearing any clothing. Earlier in the day, I dead-headed the roses and the lilies in the garden, and before that, I picked raspberries. These are small things, but for me important things which tell me that I am alive and well.