The Third Thing: Poet Donald Hall on the Secret to Lasting Love – The Marginalian
What we did: we got up early in the morning. I brought Jane coffee in bed. She walked the dog as I started writing, then climbed the stairs to work at her own desk on her own poems. We had lunch. We lay down together. We rose and worked at secondary things. I read aloud to Jane; we played scoreless ping-pong; we read the mail; we worked again. We ate supper, talked, read books sitting across from each other in the living room, and went to sleep. If we were lucky the phone didn’t ring all day… Three hundred and thirty days a year we inhabited this old house and the same day’s adventurous routine. What we did: love.
Scoreless ping-pong?? What madness!
Taking coffee to my partner is a cherished morning ritual and reading aloud is something I discovered I enjoy.
-sweetness.
Ooo, I got a tingle reading “I brought Jane coffee in bed” and “I read aloud to Jane.” This was a beautiful description of happiness. How I wish…….
The idea of the “third thing” is brilliant and so the key.
Say, do you want to play only games that have a winner? I think scoreless Pingpong would be energetic yet relaxing without the pressure of scoring. I myself like to win games! :-)