Although we are in our early fifties, my wife and I still hold hands on a very regular basis.We met each other when my wife was sixteen years old and I was seventeen years old,

We were in church this morning in a parish near where we had spent a lovely weekend break and as I looked at her hand within mine, I noticed that, although her hand is the same to me as it always has been, and oh so familiar, I noticed in that calm space that her hand has aged.

I felt a very sudden rush of wanting to protect her, to keep her safe, nothing must ever happen to her? What would I do?

I asked her in the car on our way home – “Why do you love me?” 

She said back to me “I love you because you look after me”

I said, “In what ways do I look after you?”

Slightly exasperated with me, she said “you carry my heavy bag to and from the beach on holiday and you sort out the finances and you are kind”

I squeeze her hand in mine –“Yes, true!”

What lovely hands she has  – have you noticed your loved ones hands recently? – look, kiss and squeeze them! and do it often!

My next blog will be: Through My Fault

William Defoe