When I first read some of the posts on this thread, I wished, with all my heart, that those spouses who aren't as far down the line as I am, would grab every opportunity of enjoyment with their loved one.
The highlight of the coming week, is a visit to the psychiatric geriatrician, to see if the medication prescribed for John, has dampened his ardour, and I'm pleased to say it's had about an 80% success rate.
The staff are very vigilant, and are aware of the "first and second gear" signs, as they put it, which enables them to distract John before he zooms into fifth gear with his paramour - who is now 90!
Last time we went, I took John to a garden centre for a coffee, but, selfishly, after the problems we had on our last visit, I shan't do that again. I truly believe, at the stage he is at now, of this hated disease, that he doesn't know what he's missed. Today, to begin with, he knew both my name, and that I was his wife.
I chatted about the weather, the fact that Strictly and X Factor had both started, and that I had cut a lot of shrubs down, including the kerria, and he immediately said "bachelors' buttons".
I returned his coffee cup to the counter - about 10 feet away - and by the time I returned, he asked who I was, and what was I doing there.
I repeated the same conversation, but this time, I was met with blank looks.
I don't miss things from the past few years, which have been hard, but I do miss the comfortable companionship we enjoyed before the new millennium.