“It was agreed that to stay with one person your whole life was to not only prevent life experience, but have a miserable elder life by having to stay with another ugly old-looking person. If you stayed single forever, however, one wouldn’t have to lie and say to their wrinkly, crooked-backed lover, “Good morning, beautiful.” Thus, everyone pretty much died alone. At least they died honestly. But these people did not live honestly. At some point, every person once wished to tell that morning lie—to be soothed and supported by an unconditional, unwavering agreement during the cold ends of one’s life. A lie of attraction in exchange for company, they theorized. But they missed the point. Marriage in one’s elder life isn’t to lie and say, “Good morning, beautiful,” but to joke and say, “Good morning, ugly.” RomanceRelationshipsMarriageTrue LoveOld AgeGetting OldGrowing OldThe Goodbye SongFear Of RelationshipsTrue Marriage Book:The Goodbye Song Source: The Goodbye Song
“Claire continued. "There's a complexity of... looking forward to something. Being scared it doesn’t live up to your hope... like second dates... or returning to Cancun... or being in love with a stranger, hoping they never love you. It’s not that you prefer the concept or the excitement of the beginning. It’s the fear that a future with someone won’t be as nice as you hoped it would be. I would hate that, Brit. It'd crush me. It's like when you tell a person you like them—it always dips. It gets awkward. The expectation of it. I feel some things are best left at 'Hello.' Like, I write about living in a forest away from everyone, but I can’t tell if that’s the future I want or only enjoy writing about.” Falling In LoveComplicatedVulnerabilityFear Of FailureGuardedThe Goodbye SongFear Of ChangeLies We Tell OurselvesFear Of Relationships Book:The Goodbye Song Source: The Goodbye Song