I was on my way to work early in the morning, driving the busy parkway that leads to the state park.  I saw them in their yard as I had several times before.  She was hanging clothes on the clothesline; he was on his riding lawnmower.  I couldn’t resist this time.  I turned around and went back.  I had to get a picture of this beautiful scene.

As I approached them in their yard, he drove toward me.  I expressed my awe at them and he began to share.  He is 91 and his wife is 88. They have been married 68 years.  I met his lovely wife at the clothesline on which she was dutifully hanging clothes.  He informed me, with a mischievous  gleam in his eye, that she does have a dryer.  They shared about their life.

They have lived in this house for 49 years.  It was on a dusty dirt road when they moved there.  They sat outside and listened to the sounds and quiet of nature.  Now, she noted with a smile, all they heard was cars going by.  They raised their family here and attended the nearby church, although only as they were able to nowadays.

The cane she requires to walk was hanging over the clothesline.  The lawnmower is his primary mode of getting around outside because he is not very steady on his feet these days.  The large garden plot at the back of their property was prepared and ready to spring forth with life soon, although this year it will be tended by his son and grandson. Surrounded by the family they created, they are still giving life their all.

This is such a beautiful picture of lives lived to the fullest.