Posted on 2022.07.31
What is the value of youth and beauty? I myself am a man of a certain age and I will admit that when I was younger, I did not value them the way that I should have. I didn’t understand how these two things really enhanced my life and I took them for granted. I wasted them more than I wasted the money I made. Thankfully, time and one painful divorce taught me to value these things and how to properly enjoy them.
I love beautiful things. I started working at age 10 and went into semi-retirement 60 years later.
I have been blessed with children, good fortune, and good health. Now that I don’t work 80+ hours a week or travel out of town every three weeks, I find myself in a unique position: all the time in the world to enjoy all the things I love and no one to do it with.
In our youth, we don’t necessarily have the funds to enjoy beautiful things, but you do have time. You may even have some beauty of your own that causes women to overlook the things you don’t have. But chances are, you’re missing something. If you’re anything like me, your good looks run out just as the money starts to come in. But during those youthful years, I didn’t have the time.
So here I sit on money and with the added luxury of time. But I’ve lost my so-called youthful beauty. It took me a long time to come around to the idea of Companionship, and it was actually a much younger man who convinced me to try it. He and I were having a meeting and he casually mentioned the dinner date he had the night before. He described the kind of woman I only ever dreamed of being with and told him that. He smiled and said, “you know you can make dreams come true. I did. Worth every penny.”
I sat back in shock as the words connected in my brain and the meaning became clear. I was surprised because he had two things I didn’t have at his age. He explained that what he didn’t have was time. It was a luxury and if he was going to indulge in luxury, why not guarantee that every moment was worth it?
“Why deny yourself the company of a beautiful, charming, and funny woman? Why go out alone when you don’t have to?”
He gave me the website address for Cupid’s and told me to enjoy myself. Later that night, I loaded up the site on my computer at home and was pleasantly surprised and a little intimidated. These women were beautiful. They wouldn’t want to be with an old man like me. They would want to be with men like my associate, while partying the night away in clubs to the early dawn.
Ignoring the whispers of doubt, I decided to pick a Companion who was a bit more mature and who would hopefully be more forgiving of an old man like me. I decided to start easy with just dinner and a walk. With fingers crossed I booked my first date with a Cupid.
She was beautiful and warm and she reminded me of summer. I immediately felt comfortable with her and by the time our appetizers arrived, I wished I had booked her for more time. She liked my choice of restaurant and pointed out details in a piece of art hanging on the wall.
I’m ashamed to say I expressed surprise at her art knowledge, and was absolutely floored by her response. She said that she loved to find something beautiful in each of her days, whether it be on a date or just on her way to the dentist. That she loved galleries and museums. That she never ate takeout because she believed the presentation was just as important as the ingredients. That she stopped to listen to a song she liked two or three times so that she could find her favourite part. That she took pride in her appearance because she wanted to enjoy her reflection. That last part may sound self centred, but it wasn’t. Here was a beautiful young woman who had the time to enjoy these things.
There I was, craving a life where I could indulge in beauty and just as my associate promised, I had the opportunity to do so. Now, I’m not delusional, I know that my time with a Companion is limited and that it will not go beyond the fantasy we have created, but therein lies the beauty of such an arrangement. I can indulge and I can share that with someone who appreciates it.
While I do pay a price for their time, to have the opportunity to enjoy that youth and beauty?
You cannot put a dollar amount on that.
It is priceless.
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