The nicest lady was introduced to me while we watched our boys play in a golf tournament recently. Turns out she was a practicing attorney, and when she told me her practice included some family law, it made me want to share a funny story.
A couple in their mid-90s came for a consultation with their attorney. When the meeting commenced, they informed their counselor it was their desire to file for divorce. Puzzled, their lawyer took the information to heart but inquired if they would mind if he asked why they would do such a thing after 75 years of marriage.
They looked at each other knowingly, and then turned to him in unison and replied they had waited for the last of their children to pass away before they made the decision.
After we each had a good chuckle over the story she shared one with me.
It turns out, she had a client with two sons. One son was 70 and the other 65. The client wanted her will drawn up in a way that would leave her estate in equal parts to each of her children with the stipulation that the portion left to the 65-year-old would be left in a trust until he reached the age of 75.
The attorney asked her client if she was hoping by the time her son reached the age of 75 he would be better prepared or perhaps more mature in order to handle the money being left to him.
The client replied she felt quite confident in his ability to handle the money, and that he would reach the age of 75. She did, however, say she did not expect his wife to live long enough for him to reach the age of 75.
This last week marked the beginning of summer for our clan. It is unique in that this is the last summer our youngest will not be able to drive. He will turn 16 in November and propel us like a projectile into the empty nest phase of life. It will be a summer of lasts in many ways, but also one of anticipation toward a new season of life.
A trusted friend told me not too long ago when I said there seemed to be much inevitability on my horizon that the only inevitability any of us face is change. He was right.
An article I came across recently said one editor had a favorite saying to his staff, "If you don't like change, you're gonna really hate extinction." When you put it that way change seems, well, almost welcome. Truth is certainly stranger than fiction.
