Until 70

“Darling, I will be loving you ‘till we’re 70.”

-Ed Sheeran-

I used to joke around with someone, “I’m gonna love you until 70, it will be our deadline because at that time we would be fed up with each other” he said.

I laugh at that time. “So what will you do?” I asked. He replied, “I’m gonna invite you for a coffee on the balcony, then kick your fat ass out from here.”

I laugh again. I imagine if that thing actually happens.

I feel that there’s something about the idea of loving someone until they are 70. By then, normally, people will not have any energy left to go outside and find someone new to cheat. By 70, probably all we want to do is to enjoy the rest of our life by chilling in the garden with our grandchildren. Or probably, if I live alone with my spouse, I would love to live somewhere less crowded. I would love to live in a small village surrounded by small hills and public parks. Maybe, have one dog who will ‘force’ us to go outside for a walk every evening. We will hold each other’s hand only for safety reasons instead of being romantic (e.g. preventing loss of balance and falling down).

By 70, maybe, our passionate and sexy love will have faded. Maybe, we barely kiss or slap each other butt. And by the age of 70, we will be annoyed just by seeing each other’s ugly and wrinkled faces.

But probably, to love someone until 70 will feel like a lifetime habit. It will feel easier as if breathing, eating, and living. Something we cannot live without. Imagine waking up and looking at the same face every day. Sometimes, we cannot help but want to slap that person. Because for sure, life until 70 will not always be sunshine and rainbows.

Probably, on the balcony, before we kick each other’s butts we will have a nice conversation about our past times. Reminiscing all the good times passed, the places we have traveled to, the problems we have solved as a team. We will not have more ambition, so we will not be mad about the uncertain future. We will only focus on enjoying this present moment.

There’s something about loving someone until 70. At that time, we might have some resentments or dissatisfaction about things that have happened in our lives. There would be moments when we might think that if only we could turn back the time, we would choose a different path. 

But at the end of the day - I think- when I spend my 70 holding hands with the right person, every other thing won’t matter anymore. No regret will be too regretful when we know that we did our best together. Everything will be worth our effort to make our dreams come true.

There’s something beautiful about loving someone ‘till 70. That loving that particular person becomes our everyday activities. Things like giving flowers, buying gifts, going on vacations, or other big kinds of stuff that used to be something important, will not really matter anymore. What we will enjoy is only each other’s company. Though, I would love some flowers even when we are already 70. 

That is why, as much as I find these lyrics beautiful, a kind of sadness lingers in my heart. When I know, the joke won’t be the same anymore. When the little habit of being in love slowly disappears as the time and distance come between us. When I hear the song alone, imagine what would happen if only the things work in the way I want to.

When you are 70, 

Will you still remember me?

Will you still miss me?

Will you still joke around with me?

Will you still love me like when we were 23?

When we are 70,

Will I get the chance to taste that coffee on the balcony with you? Feeling the sea breeze blowing right through our skin in a coastal city during summertime. Maybe we will not have two cups of coffee, instead we will order Sangria and Paella.

Maybe, rather than loving you only until 70, we could keep loving on each other until death tears us apart? Who knows, maybe after 70, we will continue to find an adventure that brings us closer than ever. Who knows, after 70, we will feel like 23 again.