I am 56. I have been married for almost 21 years. I will not be reading this link, but I am glad it exists. Midlife brings many things, some good and some bad

I am 56. I have been married for almost 21 years. I will not be reading this link, but I am glad it exists. Midlife brings many things, some good and some bad and some just part of life. One of these is the more visceral, serious understanding -- replacing the mere intellectual knowledge you had before -- that the ride you're on will end. You will, in your middle years, have friends whose own rides were far shorter than any of you imagined. You will see people's partners die, and the emotional wreckage that leaves behind. My friend D. is, right now, navigating his first summer alone after losing his wife of nearly 40 years last spring (fuck cancer). You will realize it could be you, on either side of the sod. May Elise's memory be a blessing. But I'm gonna go hug my wife now instead of reading Stephen's piece.