My husband and I used to be young, and now we are not so young. There are defining moments also when the world reminds us we are not as young as we used to be, such as returning to school.

As I made plans to return to school, my husband announced to me that he planned to go to school with me. I immediately decided that if he went to school, I would not. First, it was a practical matter. How were we going to pay the bills? Second, I remembered how it was when we both went to school together in 1988. One conversation went sort of like this:

“Don’t you think you’d better start working on your paper?” I said.

“I’ll get to it. There’s plenty of time,” he replied.

“Well, it’s due in a week, and it’s 30 pages with footnotes,” I said.

“Oh, it’ll be fine,” he said as he continued to watch whatever movie he was watching or reading whatever gardening magazine he was reading.

Fast forward two days later:

“Don’t you think you’d better start working on your paper?” I said.

“Yah, I’d better start on it,” he replied as he continued to read a book about vitamins or square foot gardening.

“You really should start on it because it’s due in three days,” I said with stress in my voice as I felt my blood pressure rising. A husband can make your blood pressure rise faster than a rocket blasting off into space even if your 30-page paper is completed. Fast forward to the night before the paper is due:

My husband is typing furiously with white paper and index cards strewn around the room. (Yes, “typing” as computers were still optional then.)

“I have so much more to do! I’ve hardly gotten the first half done ... ” my husband looks frantic as he is typing and talking.

So, with that vision in mind, I was convinced I couldn’t go through this mental stress again. However, I have been pleasantly surprised. This time, my husband is studying in advance. He says he has to now. And, even though he doesn’t like it when the other students in the class call him “sir” or “Mr. John” because it makes him feel old, I think it is good for him as a reminder he isn’t 20 years old anymore and should behave appropriately. Age should bring wisdom.

Maybe this is God’s way of teaching him to accept his age. For me, it is fun going to school with my husband as it helps us to have a lot in common to talk about ... and I have someone to eat lunch with.

-- T&D Correspondent Cindy Ott can be reached by phone at 803-829-3638. Discuss this and other stories online at TheTandD.com.

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