Mr & Mrs Sweetheart

Mr & Mrs Sweetheart aren't in the first flush of youth. Mr Sweetheart is hard of hearing, and has a bit of trouble with his memory, and Mrs Sweetheart can't really get about these days.

And yet, they work. He's happy to be the legs for them both, and she's quite content to do the bulk of the thinking.

And they're still very much in love with each other.

When people see just one of them, they see someone who can't manage...but they function perfectly well as a partnership.

Working with older people, I've lost count of the number of couples I've seen like this. And, yes, I've been guilty of just seeing a person who can't manage in the past...but now I look to understand how they've been managing up until now...and to see what's needed to get them to that point.

It doesn't always succeed- sometimes you can't get back to where you were- but I think it's better to start from the assumption someone can manage rather than they can't.