As the Clock Strikes 4 on Tuesday Afternoons

I was sitting at my desk waiting for patients to come in...I never realized that time passes by so quickly...Some patients are grouchy enough to ruin your day and others are just too sweet to suddenly brighten everything up...and at exactly 4 pm there they were again...Holding each other's hands as they wave at me to say goodbye...

They look so lovely...A man in his 80's and a lovely woman in her 70's never failed to flash me a smile and say goodbye every tuesday afternoons...How did they make it through all these years I always wondered...I tried observing them once and I just couldn't help but grin seeing the glow in each other's eyes whenever Mr. Right would come and get his Mrs. Right...They were perfect for each other. He waits for her patiently at the corridor....and with a gleeful smile she'd rush into his arms...and hand in hand they'd pass me by gracefully...

What makes a relationship lasts this long I wondered? Last week my supervisor asked me to check on some paper works and suddenly looked at me with her eyebrow's almost clashing together..."do you happen to know a Maribeth Ancheta? That's not you right?" I blushed and said, " That is me...that is actually my maiden name..." I laughed and said, " Oh sometimes I still forget my new last name..."...with a grin she asked me, " how long have you been married?"...to make up for my previously embarrassing mistake I said, " 5 years"...she asked again, " so when did you get married?" I proudly answered, " December of 2005"...she laughed again and said..." oh so you've been married for almost 4 years then..." we laughed hard...and then there was this eerie silence...after a few minutes of laughing out loud she looked at me and said, " well I've been married for 20 years and then I gave up"...I didn't know how to answer her back and so I just looked at her intently with questioning eyes and offered her some chips instead...

How do you make a relationship lasts? Kenny Rogers would sing his THROUGH THE YEARS and maybe give you a wink or two and say, "that is how a relationship lasts..."John and Marsha made us love them for showing us that they were able to make it through with the bumpy world of marriage...But in reality how do we make it through...

I would definitely say that it would be insanely hard to make it through...I guess a little magical ingredients will do the trick...10 cups of patience...a teaspoon of hugs and kisses...a bucket filled with love and understanding...a pint of good communication...1 tablespoon of shared interest...a basin full of prayer...a drop of happy tears...an ounce of affection...and of course a pinch of sweet old memories that makes us smile...

I really don't know the exact answer but I do have a lifetime to find out how...

I'm in my senti mode again with all of these flight of ideas...I just want it to lasts forever...Is it possible?...Maybe...Maybe not...I too would want to sit on a rocking chair someday...side by side with the person who would let me remember how sweet love was...love is...and love that will always be...I too would want to look into his glistening eyes as we talk about our good old memories together...I too would want to walk by the beach holding hands with the person who'd always promised me that though the world will come to an end he'll still be there to love me no matter what...

...and at exactly 4 pm every tuesday afternoons I'd wave back and say, "have a nice day!", to Mr. Right and Mrs. Right and with the glow in their eyes they'd just wave at me and say, " you too dear..." sigh!?! WHAT A PERFECT SIGHT...It's love alright...