Look at That Old Couple Still Holding Hands

Joe and I were walking along a beach in Florida one afternoon, doing what we’ve done for most of our married life—holding hands.

It wasn’t an anniversary or a special occasion. We were simply enjoying a slow walk, listening to the waves, talking about nothing in particular.

As two teenage girls passed us, Joe overheard one of them say to the other,

“Look at that old couple still holding hands.”

He turned and looked at me with that grin that tells me he’s about to say something.

“What did she just call us?”

I laughed.

“Old.”

We both got a good laugh out of it, and by the time we reached the end of the beach, we’d moved on to something else.

Or so I thought.

Apparently, those two girls decided they were going to become part of our marriage story.

Years have passed since that walk, but every now and then, when we’re walking through a grocery store, crossing a parking lot, or heading into a restaurant, one of us will reach for the other’s hand.

Almost without fail, the other one will smile and say,

“Look at that old couple still holding hands.”

It still makes us laugh.

Funny how something a stranger says in passing can become one of your favorite inside jokes.

The truth is, holding hands means something different now than it did when we were young.

Back then, it was excitement.

Today, it carries years.

Shared dreams.

Hard seasons.

Hospital waiting rooms.

Long drives.

Quiet evenings.

Forgiveness.

A thousand ordinary days that somehow became a life together.

Sometimes, when we’re walking through a store or across a parking lot, I think about those two girls.

I wonder what they’d say if they saw us now.

Then Joe reaches for my hand.

And I smile.

Not because we’re still holding hands.

Because, after all these years…

we still want to.