A perfect fit
I am 1.55 meters tall. The tallest guy I’ve seriously dated was 5ft 7in; the man I once considered my soul mate was five feet tall. I like to be at eye level with my partner. I don’t like being swallowed up. After a series of failed relationships, including a divorce, friends introduced me to a historian. They described him as “charming and funny, but tall.” At six feet, Zach is well beyond my height preference, someone I wouldn’t have noticed on my own. But we’ve been together for five months now and I don’t remember feeling so compatible with anyone. Everything looks up. — Minh-Ha T. Pham
Reasons to forgive
I imagine nothing evokes more contempt than monthly payments to a woman who has left, taking both children and half the furniture with her. But those days are long gone now; our children are grown and chasing their dreams on opposite shores. Everyone’s in town tonight. We eat together. His humour, still funny. My smile, still deep. In the midst of the easy conversation, it is clear that we have both softened. Despite numerous reasons for animosity, we have found that there are two very good reasons for forgiveness. And they are with us now. I am thankful that we are wise enough to choose them. — Mindy Ellis
A sweet habit
I was single for 20 years. So when my new husband started hugging me every night before falling asleep, I found the habit sweet but limiting. Then I remembered how my husband’s previous partner developed multiple myeloma. How he once rushed Michael to the hospital when the symptoms became severe. How Michael, paraplegic, died on a stretcher in a hallway, waiting for his tests. And how my husband had his arms around Michael the moment he died. Now, when that nighttime embrace arrives, claustrophobia isn’t on my mind. I just stroked his hand to say, “I’m still here.” — Jeff Herrington
My grandmother, the pilot
When her youngest graduated from college, my grandmother decided she wanted to be a pilot. She completed primary school, but went no further. When our grandchildren were born, she was a widow living on a teacher’s salary in New Jersey. Instead of an inheritance, our grandmother promised us memories. She traveled with us every summer and shared her desire to explore, a desire that led me to complete my pilot’s license. In gratitude for her encouragement, I recently took my grandmother down the Hudson River, we were both in awe of each other. — Jessica Ward
