A Small Victory: first person to say Mrs. Robinson dies a gruesome death

first person to say Mrs. Robinson dies a gruesome death

I had a little episode with a relative tonight. Nothing new there. The subject was me and Justin and it's a subject that has been brought up again and again by certain people. See, there is a huge age difference between Justin and I. I'm 39, he's.....he's in his early 20's. Not a problem for me so it shouldn't be for you, right?

So when the inevitable conversation comes up with these closed-minded relatives, the most repeated question is "What could you two possibly talk about? What in the world do you have in common?" A lot more than I have in common with them, I suppose.

Justin and I were at a restaurant tonight, one of those chain type places with a menu that looks like every other chain-type restaurant, but with different cute names for the burgers. We sat at a booth, next to a table with a couple that looked to be in their 40's and behind another couple that were probably in their 20's. I always notice the conversations of others in restaurants. What I notice most is how a lot of couples don't talk. They sit there, fiddling with their food or glancing at the game on tv, and make small talk every once in a while.

For the hour and half we were there, Justin and I talked non-stop. We started out discussing military tribunals, which led to a discussion about Dick Cheney and George Bush. Somehow we ended up from there detailing all the ways in which Maynard James Keenan is a freak. We had our nightly X-Box/Playstation 2 debate, decided on getting the kids a computer for Christmas, made the decision to get Natalie a tutor, ranted about the state of rock radio in New York, debated which movie role was Gary Oldman's finest moment, and reminsced at lenght about that night three years ago when we first met. In that whole time, the two same-aged couples seated by us said about 2 words to each other.

Our nights and days are always like that. I talk to him from work at least 3 times during the day. We talk before I leave work and as soon as I get home. We lay in bed at night and talk about everything and nothing, we take long drives filled with interesting conversation.

I don't know why people assume that because there is an age difference we would have so little to say to each other. We learn from each other. I thrive off of his youthful enthusiasm for life. He revels in my experiences and takes lessons from mistakes I have made in the past. He acts older than he is. I tend to be a bit immature. He enjoys taking on the role of a sort of step-parent and I enjoy going to comic book stores and concerts. We meet somewhere about halfway, our ages becoming blurred numbers that mean nothing to us.

People who can't understand look at us and see an odd couple. They shake their heads and tell me that it won't last. At first it bothered me. I let it get to me and almost undermine a wonderful relationship. But I look at these people now, the same people who have been saying for 3 years that we wouldn't last a week, and I see people who are stuck in their own dull marriages, people who probably haven't laughed with their spouses in years. I see people I should probably ignore, but for the sake of family peace, I don't. After three years of this, I'm resigned to the fact that it will never change, they will never change, and I will be listening to the same questions for the rest of my life.

I'm so aggravated by all this that I can't end this post with a nice, clean, last line. I'm unable to wrap this one up.

A Small Victory

first person to say Mrs. Robinson dies a gruesome death

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