"For this cause shall a man leave his father and mother, and shall be joined unto his wife, and they two shall be one flesh."
Ephesians 5:31, Holy Bible, King James Edition
"I'm a good husband."
What prompted Jay to say that as we stepped outside with JoJo for the puppy's morning constitutional, I'm not sure, but I immediately agreed.
In fact, Jay is the epitome of a great husband. He loves and cherishes his wife, often going out of his way to do nice things for her.
As the Bible says, he became one flesh with Sasha when they married, and Sasha also seems very committed to their union.
It helps that they share many common interests including skiing, travel, classic MGs, Formula One Racing, sports and concerts.
They enjoy going out for meals or happy hours together.
Near the beginning of their stay, we went with Amy, Gina, Laszlo and Emma to Brick & Brew, which is a somewhat upscale take on a gastro pub that we've dined at previously. I ordered the Burnt Ends and Cheese Grits, which I had eyed when Laszlo ordered that combo last time. It was delicious, with plenty of food for me. Everyone seemed to enjoy their meals, which is not always easy for a group with so many different dining preferences and requirements. Amy and Jay split the tab.
Jay and Sasha convinced Julie and me to visit two other casual eateries in the area on their last couple of evenings in town.
Town Tap features Conshohocken craft brews, including holiday flavors like You Can't Catch Me Gingerbread Ale and Ivin's Famous Chocolate Creme Stout, along with some tasty pub food. I had a Philly Cheesesteak sandwich that evening. My sandwich turned out to taste more like a French Dip than the Philadelphia signature dish, but it was still good. Again, everyone else was happy with what they ordered.
On their final evening, we went to McSorley's Ale House for happy hour that included $3.50 well drinks and $2.50 Yeungling Lagers. There's also a menu of reasonably priced bar food, the type that isn't too preparation-intensive but pleases common folks. We had nachos, which as a former Californian I would rank as so-so. Next time, I think McSorley's App Combo of chicken tenders, fried mazarella sticks and Philly Cheesesteak eggrolls will be my choice.
Jay, Sasha and I played a game of Cutthroat on the well-maintained pool table. The felt playing surface proved to be perfectly level. There are also some other arcade games, making it a fun place to hang out.
Regardless of their commitment to each other, necessity sometimes dictates Jay and Sasha take divergent paths temporarily. Sasha has specific office hours, whereas Jay works longer hours but on a more flexible schedule during which, for example, he may speak on his cell phone while taking a walk with JoJo.
On one of those occasions, JoJo pulled Jay onto little offshoots off the main Nature Trail at Haverford College, where Julie and I walk about once a week. As backstory, JoJo has a sensitive stomach, so she eats only freeze-dried venison. Three different times, those side trails led Jay to deer, so JoJo obviously smelled dinner despite the fact that her prospective prey would have been many times larger than she is.
Like Julie and me, Jay and Sasha enjoy taking long walks or hikes together, and on their last morning in Pennsylvania, Jay selected Wissahickon Valley for the four of us plus JoJo to hike together along the river. We made a.similar hike the day before without Sasha, because she had to be at her virtual desk in the early morning. The trees had sufficiently sheltered in the valley so that it retained many of its vibrant fall-colored leafs, so Jay wanted to share that experiene with Sasha.
It was a nice finale to their visit.
What did Jay mean about being a good husband?
My ego immediately wondered if he was inferring that I by comparison may not be a good husband. Certainly, I try to be a good husband, but over the last five years or so, it has come to feel like that may no longer be the consensus opinion I once thought it was.
This compounded my self doubts about other family relationships, but after weeks of additional self-analysis, I've concluded once again that I'm still just me, and I can't control how others may interpret what that means. It's all relative.
In the end, Jay likely was simply making an off-the-nose comment about how cold it was on that particular morning when he took JoJo outside while Sasha had her first cup of coffee inside the relatively warm house as she prepared for her work day. At least it gave me a place to start this post.
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