SENIOR RELATIONSHIPS

       My 81 year old brother found a girlfriend a while ago or maybe some older lady found a boyfriend. I'm not sure which. It's a happy time for both of them. They got permission or a thumbs up from their kids. So they're jumping through the proper hoops.

       One thing my brother said to me is, "Why do they make it so hard for old guys to get married?" The statement took me by surprise. 

     He went on to tell me what some of the difficult issues are. If you get married, benefits from your previous spouse are cancelled. So CPP(Canada pension plan,, OAS(Old Age Security) are cancelled from the deceased spouse's account. Many seniors depend on these benefits to some extent. The  benefits are also cancelled if you live common law and they find you.

     I suppose in some cases it would be a sizable loss depending on the previous spouses status.

     So  this was  something that was a big surprise to me.

WHY DO SOME OPPOSITES ATTRACT OPPOSITES?

     I'm sure that reading between the lines on this blog you can tell that the Micro Manager and I are quite opposite. With the posts on downsizing it's very obvious that we are opposites. One reader left a comment in jest  that "a war was developing between Red the Declutterer and Jean the Hoarder". One of us was very busy finding things to "decorate" the house. There are enough "things" to decorate a few houses. I know that she had a great time collecting items and displaying them . She bought very few things in a store. I sometimes ask her "Where did you get that thing?"  She always knows. Many things were picked up on garage sales or were given. The mother in law gave us many paintings. There are probably 20 of these creations in the house. The Micro Manager liked paint by number. She also liked the needle work patterns. She also took a ceramics course and produced quite a few creations to hang in a wall. 

     Then I also noticed a pattern in a few comments where it was obvious the spouses were in opposite corners of he downsizing issue. It was interesting that many different compromises were made. And then thee are the people who know they should be downsizing but just can't get started. 

     The room with thirteen things on the wall is now down to two. 

     When I went out with the Micro Manager I recognized that she was opposite to me in quite a few areas. I thought it would complement our relationship . However , when it comes to down sizing we've spent quite a bit of time discussing. However, I don't think that Mr. Pudding is right that we are in any kind of war. A siege maybe, but not a fight. 

    the bear painting is from the Mother in Law

The hands are from the ceramics course

The swans are from a paint by number kit.