Morning Coffee

This morning, I got up and drove to the metro station as usual to go to work. For those of you who know me, usually I have metro stories that include people who smell, people who almost sit on top of you trying to squeeze into the small seat next to you, people pushing, shoving and hitting to get out at certain stations and people crammed in like sardines when the train is late. Well, today was a breath of fresh air...today, I have a positive metro story.

I got onto the train this morning, and, per usual, looked for the least threatening person to sit next to, which today, happened to be an old man, who I would estimate was about 90. I was kind of surprised to see someone so elderly on the Baltimore Metro. I went over, sat down, and proceeded to gaze intently out the window, counting down the minutes until I could escape into the outside world again. The man must have seen my Department of Veterans' Affairs badge, because he started talking to me:
Man: "So you work for the VA?"
Me: "Yes, that's where I'm headed right now. Where are you headed?"
Man: "Everyday, I get on this train and come down to Baltimore to visit my wife"
Me: "Oh yeah? where is your wife?"
Man: "She's been in the hospital for 6 months now, I come down every morning around 7:00 and leave every afternoon around 3:30"
Me: "Wow, you must be a very devoted husband"
Man: "After 65 years of being married to someone, I can't imagine having my morning coffee by myself, so I come down here every morning to have my coffee with her"

We continued to talk for the rest of the ride, then I got off at my stop, and he continued on the train.

The whole conversation made me think about something my mom wrote to me in an email the other day:

"It's funny how things come down to those wedding vows you take when you are very young-"For better, for worse, for richer, for poorer, in sickness and in health, til death do us part." When you are young and healthy and everything is looking great, you don't think about that pledge you make. They are just words. But, when you are with someone for 25 or 30 years-they are actions and thoughts and sticking with someone because you promised."

These are the things that I will think about alot over the next year and 3 months...I hope in 65 years, Adam will love me enough to travel every morning to drink his morning cup of coffee with me, no matter where I am....on second thought, Adam doesn't even like coffee.