Naughty V. Nice

Nice guys may finish last, according to the cynical proverb attributed to baseball manager Leo Durocher, but they come in first in my Fab Over Fifty book of wisdom. Despite how we felt when we were dating in our twenties, FOF women have learned how nice nice really is.

How nice it is when your husband, partner, boyfriend (whatever he is in your life):

Smiles his way through your whims and idiosyncrasies

Doesn’t seem to notice you’re not the same size as when the two of you met. And  if he does, doesn’t give a darn

Loves your children, even if they’re not his

Walks the dog every morning before he goes to work (and lets you sleep)

Enjoys shopping with you (and has impeccable taste)

Is unequivocally loyal

Urges you to see a doctor when you’re under the weather

Offers to go out of his way to pick you up at the airport

Listens to how your day was (at least half the time)

Agrees to take your 85 year-old-mother to dinner with you (every Saturday)

Agrees to spend every Thanksgiving at your sister’s house (every year)

Doesn’t pout when you announce you’re going out to dinner with friends (two nights in a row)

Acknowledges how Fab you really are

Passionate sex, sarcasm, looks that could kill, and all that jazz may seduce us when we’re 25, or perhaps even 45. They don’t, however, stand the test of time.