Assisted by Nancy Davis Labastida, Charles Francis Guittard shares how he found love again at eighty through a collection of memories and emails exchanged between him and Nancy in their heartwarming memoir THINKING THINGS OVER: The Reflections of Two 80-Year-Olds. Guittard begins with stories from his childhood, narrating about how his parents did their best to “polish” him by teaching him about such things as manners, speech, sex education, dancing, posture, and so on: “Straighten up, shoulders back, and don’t hunch over as you walk. You look like you’re about to tip over.” As they get to know each other (piecing together what eighty years apart looked like), Nancy also shares her sporting endeavors, her love for singing, and her experience in previous relationships.
As children, they weren’t asked which nurse they preferred while getting their medical shots, and Guittard's parents took medical matters seriously. Meaning, everyone got their shots regularly. To comedic effect, Guittard recalls how one nurse’s injections always hurt and that he can still picture her face even after so many years. He also didn’t get any lollipops after these shots: “They didn’t give out lollipops either. That would've been for wimps. However, I was a wimp, and I would’ve liked a lollipop to distract me from my sore arm.”
The tone of the couple's conversations is sweet and honest, without any fluff or pretensions to impress each other. Their transparency makes it easy to follow the progression of their affection. In one instance, Nancy lightly replies to Guittard’s confession about fighting off feelings of anxiety about her son, and it’s honestly so sweet to see that these feelings and concerns are present even at eighty. Given that they could have easily given up, using their age and the concern raised by Nancy’s son as excuses, it is truly touching to see how they opened their hearts to love again after the loss of their partners.
There are small gaps in their exchanges, though. For instance, after she sends a message on August 26th, we then see him reply with a reference to her son’s concern on August 28th. But this concern wasn’t conveyed in her email of August 26th. This results in a bit of confusion here about when exactly that conversation happened. Including these emails still enriches THINKING THINGS OVER, however, demonstrating how simple getting to know someone and courtship can actually be if both parties are interested and willing to be consistent.
Full of nostalgia, Charles Francis Guittard and Nancy Davis Labastida’s emotionally rewarding memoir, THINKING THINGS OVER: The Reflections of Two 80-Year-Olds, offers younger generations a peek into what romance looks like between two octogenarians while reminding everyone that it's never too late to find love.
~ Gabriella Harrison for IndieReader