Also having had a "true love" who was as much of a mismatch to me, as Richard, the man Lynn met on Craigslist, was to her (my guy was also an electrician! with a Harley instead of a convertible), I found some consolation in knowing that such a relationship could work (alas, ours did not). I was surprised by how much I liked this book.Īs someone who has never married, I found it intriguing that someone could fall in love and get married for the first time at age 62. Lynn Goodwin is one gutsy woman, and we can all learn from her. Readers will rejoice in this story of one woman's journey, but it's also an eye-opener for a lot of us. It has its funny moments and its serious ones. She has now taken to signing her last name Goodwin-Brown.Įvery woman should read this book in light of her own life and relationships. At the end, you'll want to add the line, "And they lived happily ever after." No one knows that for sure, but it looks promising now. The important thing is that both Lynn and Richard met in the middle and made compromises each could live with. As you read, you'll disagree with some of her choice, applaud others, and perhaps think about the choices you've made in life. Life is a series of compromises, and she was willing to make a lot of them. She quickly became involved in his small church, where she was treated as the pastor's wife even before she was, and Richard's family welcomed her, gave her the family she never had. The one time she fixed him tuna salad and asked for an honest critique, she got it in spades, down to the celery was not sliced thin enough. No, she wouldn't join him in devouring fried foods. He liked to cook, and she didn't, so let him cook, and she, always with a weight problem, would watch what she ate. Really, who cares if he over-salts his food? Later, she would decide that doing the laundry is not such a big deal. ![]() And she is wry about the things she was learning. Throughout, Goodwin is almost painfully honest about her doubts and fears. She valued her professional life, and, a feminist, she could not become a subservient wife. She would not move from her relatively neat condo to his trailer with dishes stacked in the sink. She weighed giving up her independence, especially financial, since he seemed to live from check to check and she had a nice nest egg. Where he was impulsive, she was analytical. Richard wanted to rush into the relationship almost immediately, yet, deep as her longings were, Lynn held back. Her dog liked him right away, a good sign. Little did she know what church he belonged to, let alone that he led it. When he wrote that his roadster was parked outside church every Sunday, she replied that hers could be parked right next to his. Craigslist? She was attracted by the clever metaphor Richard used to present himself, comparing himself to a roadster with two previous owners. Those were the gaps Lynn particularly wanted to fill. But there were, of course, gaps they couldn't fill. They gave me-and still do-some of what Goodwin was missing: the sense of acceptance, the sense of being valued, of being someone who mattered. But I have four children to whom I am very close. (I loved that she had a protective dog as a companion.). At 62, like Goodwin, I was single and spending too many Saturday nights home alone with my dog. In astonishment, she, a happily married woman, asked, "Why didn't you just call me? It would be a lot easier than having a man around the house."Īs I started to read, I had to admit we didn't have a level playing field. After five days of festivities, with friends and relatives from all other the country, I shooed the last out the door on a Sunday afternoon and later confessed to a friend that for the first time in a long while, I wished I were married, wished I had someone to relive the event with. ![]() It reminded me of the wedding of my youngest daughter. One marriage that didn't last, two affairs with men that I really cared about, and a few flings with men who were disappointments. ![]() Why was she so eager to marry? By 62, I had about decided I was done with men and relationships. When I first heard that story, red flags went off all over the place. She had never married nor had a physical relationship, graduated from Vassar and had a master's degree, taught English in high school, and was a writing coach, writer, book review critic, and an Episcopalian. He was a born-again Christian preacher in a small church. He had been widowed twice, had seven children, had a technical school degree, and owned his own electrical company. At 62, Lynn Goodwin married a man whom she met on Craigslist, a man who was her total opposite.
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