The husband who return

 "Do one have to go to the mountains to cultivate oneself spiritually? It's no different to engross in artworks without meeting anyone. In the past, a lot of your temper that used to be so annoyed and twisted had died. Is it because of a pandemic or is it that you are getting old!” 

 This is what I said to my husband, an artist who has been a weekend couple at the Green Point, Brooklyn Studio for more than a year as a pandemic. He commutes from our Manhattan home after receiving the vaccine. Contrary to the old saying, 'The habit of three years old goes up to eighty', my husband has changed little by little better. He must have tried to live a good life in his chosen marriage with responsibility, but as he has been constantly circling in his own world for a long time without any miscellaneous thoughts wouldn't he have cultivated himself spiritually in his own way? 

 Most husbands listen half-heartedly when their wives speak. The fact that I expressed my dissatisfaction with my husband in writing through newspapers also seems to have contributed to his change for the better. Thanks to JoongAng Ilbo for providing the space to write. 

 It was afraid to take the subway due to the pandemic, so the weekend couple was also effective. It must have been hard for him to cook three meals a day. My grown-up husband cleans the house on weekends. If I don't want to cook, He brings food from the restaurant. He pulls shopping cart and does some grocery shopping in Chinatown. He eats the food I serve without complaining. The habit of asking for this and that in front of the table disappears and takes care of it on his own. 

 Not only that, like these days, when we are afraid to travel far, we go to the places we want to go among the places the train goes. We alternately take the Metro-North Railroad, the Hudson line (which runs along the Hudson River), the Harlem line (which runs in hopes of meeting the lake), and the New haven line (which runs along the beach) from the Harlem stop on the 125. We once took a bus from Penn Station to Catskill to the mountains and lakes. 

 We eat brunch near the arrival station and look around for the waterfront and downtown. We walk about seven miles. We are getting some fresh air, exercising, looking around. Just like if we don't walk around diligently when our legs are strong, we'll lose money. 

 Oddly enough, I feel frustrated when there are no rivers, lakes, or seas nearby. Perhaps I was a small-in-stature fish in my previous life.