The Good Place

I talked to Dr. Noggins about my crush on The Exchange. He says it's okay, it's coming from a good place. I said, "How do you know it's from a good place and not the lecherous desires of a dirty old lady?"

He said because he knows me and people are always more themselves in his office. Then he told me about travels this summer with his 68-year-old brother, his brother's wife, and his own wife. They visited various countries in Europe last month. In one city, they met up with a graduate student of his brother's. She's in her mid-twenties. They had dinner with her and her boyfriend and met up several times after.

It was obvious to everyone, including the brother, that the brother had a crush on this grad student. But he didn't do anything about it and everyone enjoyed his crush.

Despite my being compared to a 68-year-old man, this story made me smile. There is something good about appreciating the beauty and budding adulthood of the young, that I can appreciate them without wanting anything for myself, that I can appreciate their essence and want only good things for them, that I can extend this appreciation and good will to others, and even if I don't immediately see other people's goodness, I trust it's there.

So then The Exchange came home from a day of fly-fishing with The Man. They left the house before I got up so I hadn't seen him all day. He had such a good time that upon seeing me, he kissed me twice and I stroked his sunburned cheeks.

Do I still think Dr. Noggins knows what he's talking about?

Yes I do. Because earlier in the day, The Boy came home from a student council meeting and had to make his own way to Union Station for a hook up to a rehearsal in Hamilton. He phoned me just as I got off the bus near home. He sounded rushed. I asked him what he wanted. He said, "Train fare and some hugs." I said, "I'm here for that." You can't imagine how thrilled and pleased I was that he still wanted hugs from me when he is under pressure.