Talk, Talk, Talk: Rising Above the Din

I used to watch older couples in restaurants when I was young and idealistic (i.e., stupid) about relationships. There was always a pair who spoke hardly a word to one another throughout their meal. I interpreted their silence as boredom, disinterest, waning compatibility. I thought it strange, sorrowful, dumb—and vowed never to find myself in their place.

I was reminded of this commitment recently when I overheard a woman talking to her friends:

The other night my husband asked, “Have we spoken to each other yet this evening?”
I said, “No, I don’t think so.”
“Do you want to?”
“Not really.”

This spurred knowing laughter from the woman’s companions who knew that there can be a good silence in relationships. It’s a quiet that rises from feeling emotionally attached without saying so, from knowing one another so completely that communication doesn't require sound. It’s the enviable ability to simply “be” with your partner.

My husband and I have become one of those older couples I didn’t understand in my youth, and I couldn’t be happier “being” together.

[Art by Van Gogh.]