The catfish is grilled. The dinner is eaten. The dishes have all been cleaned. Now, I have a lonely hour to spend waiting for the Spurs game to start. I'm excited because I will actually get to watch it tonight. Yes, my Fox app is going to broadcast it. But that's not what I want to talk about.

Right now, I'm going to wax poetic about a subject that is often unclear to so many of us. What is it you ask? I'll tell you… It is love.

I worry sometimes when I see my younger colleagues and friends clamoring for love. I worry because I'm not sure you can understand love until you have been in a relationship for several decades. That's when it all becomes very clear to you. It isn't the things you thought it was in your youth. It isn't curled toes after a passionate love making session. It isn't romantic candlelit dinner's. It's more of a feeling, that you share in an unspoken way. A feeling that you know your partner shares without ever having to express it.

Love is an unconditional thing. It's a thing you feel with a partner who totally gets you. They might not like everything you do or stand for, but they get it. They are willing to let you pursue your interests without seeing it as an attempt to distance yourself from them. They don't interpret it as a lack of interest in them.

I have found that kind of love with Rachel. She gets me. I'm not always sure I get her. But, that's the price she pays for being in a relationship with a lesser being. I am nowhere near as good, honest, caring, and loving as she is. But, once again, she gets that. She greets my foibles steadfastly. She doesn't let them prevent her from loving me unconditionally.

When Rachel lets me go off on my camping trips, I feel her love for me. She knows, as I do, that we don't have to share the same space to feel each other's presence. We are with each other always, strongly linked, buy some magical force wherever we are. I can do nothing without thinking of her.

I don't know what life will bring us now. Rachel is retired. I'm going to retire. Will that rock our boats? I really don't think so. I think we will both embrace our new adventures head on. We will be there for each other. We will support each other no matter what we choose to do. We will allow each other the freedom to be ourselves, without feeling like we are trying to distance ourselves from each other. We will seek out new adventures that we can both enjoy together. We will hold hands and act goofy again. We will learn new things about each other. And, in that learning, our love will grow for the rest of our time together.