I had this fantasy that I would be able to go out and golf with Will a couple of mornings a week but I was definitely not the natural athlete that he was. I did enjoy planning perennial gardens and doing all sorts of “Susie Homemaker” stuff that I was never able to try while I was working.

The summer flew by and before we knew it we were loading the car up to start our new adventure as snowbirds. I knew this experience I was going to love! A whole winter in Florida! What’s not to love! We had met people in the golf community that were also going to Florida for the winter and would be in the same city that we were renting in and they promised to take us out and show us the lay of the land.

We also knew that Will’s sisters would only be a day’s drive away. His older sister wintered in southern Florida and his younger sister was now leaving in Atlanta, GA.

The mobile home park where we were renting was beautiful and I fell in love with the balmy Florida weather right away. I was, by far, the youngest woman in the park and most residents didn’t know what to make of me.

I got involved in a water aerobics class and joined a Christmas choir and spent afternoons lounging at the pool and catching up on books that I longed to read. I missed my friends and I missed the kids and the grandkids. We had never been away from Will’s kids and the grandkids for more than a couple of weeks at a time and this hit me a lot harder than I would have ever thought.

On Christmas Eve, I was singing in the local Christmas Contata, and that night was the first night I truly felt homesick. We always spent time with Will’s kids and grandkids on Christmas Eve and Christmas Day.

On Christmas Day we drove to Atlanta, to spend time with Will’s sister and brother-in-law and I spent almost the whole drive crying that I wanted to go home. Will was completely bemused and didn’t know what to make of my behavior but when we arrived in Atlanta, I was in good company. Will’s sister, Mary, was also crying. This would be the first Christmas not spent with her son so we cried and laughed together, happy that, at least, we were with family.

New Year’s Eve found us in southern Florida and spending time with Will’s oldest sister, Laura, and I felt as if I had arrived home. Finally, I felt at ease with her and we spent wonderful days shopping and getting to know each other better. I lost my shyness and awkwardness around her. I knew from Will that she was much like his mother and, so, even though I had never gotten the chance to meet and get to know Will’s mother, I felt as if I had found the next best thing.

Laura and her husband enjoyed spending time with us so much that they decided they were ready for a change and they moved closer to us in central Florida.

I loved that first winter but by the time we returned home in the spring, I knew that I would have to find myself a job. I was so used to having my own money and I wanted my independence back.

Will also knew that he would have to get some sort of job to fill his time. Golfing every day the year before had been a new experience but he knew he wouldn’t be happy doing the same thing this year.

So we both got jobs at the golf course. I became a singing waitress and Will starting cleaning and doing dishes and ended up working with the chef in the kitchen. He finally had a job using his passion!

We spent nine years summering in Canada and wintering in Florida before Will decided he was ready for a change. I resisted the idea of selling our place in Florida but ready for a new challenge.

After much soul-searching, we ended up buying a 3 bedroom bungalow in northern Ontario where Will was born raised and where I spent a lot of my summers.

I started a new career with a home based business which kept me at home for 3 meals a day for most of the month while Will finally had a chance to really enjoy his retirement.

And so I have just about brought you up to date in our saga Will is now 65 and I’m 48. It’s funny. I’m older now than Will was when he first asked me out and yet I don’t think of me as old at all. Age really doesn’t mean anything at all. It’s just a number and its true - you’re only as old as you feel.

We now have 4 grandchildren: Miranda has 2 boys age 20 and 15; Justin has 2 girls - age 13 and 10.

I asked Will recently if he feels whether the age difference has ever been an issue in our lives. He shook his head no. When I asked whether he felt that the age difference would become an issue as we became older he doesn’t think it will. And if it does, we’ll cross that bridge when we get to it. We’ll meet that challenge just as we’ve met other challenges in our life - head on.

I truly believe that we were meant to be together. We might not have started out our relationship in a conventional way but we always were open and honest with each other.

I guess I finished growing up with Will by my side and he helped me become the strong, independent woman that I have become. I believe that I helped Will believe in love again and that love transcends age. He probably wouldn’t exactly put it that way, but the sentiment is there.

We’ve learned how to make our blended family work. Our families have come to understand and respect the love that we continue to show to one another and I don’t think anyone doubts our commitment to each other. After spending half of my life with this man I am looking forward to growing old with him and taking on whatever life has to throw at us.

Will the age difference become an issue as we grow older? I don’t know. But I do know that I love this man with all that I have and I am sure if our age difference becomes an issue we will figure out a way to work it out.