Although the year is new, I’m still an old geezer. I think I know what geezer means, but I’m not sure what the definition of “old” is. One person’s old is another person’s youth. Believe me, I don’t know the difference.

I do know that I am a geezer because occasionally, The Gracious Mistress of the Parsonage will look at me and say, “Are you acting like an old geezer?”

I stare at her for a moment and respond, “Oh, no my dear. I’m not acting.”

She gives me one of her looks, then walks away. Of course, I may know that I am a geezer, but I’m really not quite sure what old really is. According to her, I am the poster child of an old geezer.

That may be true, and I will not question it in any degree. I just want to make sure I get everything out of being an old geezer. I do not want to miss anything.

With the New Year underway, I’m reflecting on my responsibilities as an old geezer. This year, I’m looking for some new tricks. None of my tricks up to this point has worked as planned. I need something new this year that’s going to help me perfect my old geezerhood.

I reflected on some of the tricks I used this past year. Tricks like, “I just don’t remember that.” Or, “I was doing something else at the time.”

There were others, but none of them seemed to work with The Gracious Mistress of the Parsonage. She can see what I’m doing a week before I actually do it. I’m really not sure how she does that. It would be helpful to know how that works, but at this point, I don’t know.

I need to learn some new tricks to address the situation at hand. I need an excuse for not doing what she wants me to do. Up to this point, she is not falling for “I can’t remember.”

One trick might work. “I was thinking about that, my dear, but I wanted to wait and get your advice on it.” That might work. Because she loves giving me advice the most. So, I’m going to find ways in which I can insert this “new trick” into our conversation.

I need to come up with another trick. I thought of one. When she looks at me and asks me what I’m thinking, I could say, “I was just thinking about how lucky I am to have you in my life. What a blessing you are.”

That should work in many regards. I think it might throw her off her game, which will put me a little ahead of time. That's certainly worth trying out for this New Year.

Another new trick came to mind. Occasionally, we go out to a diner for lunch or supper. Whenever she asks if I want to go out for lunch, I could say, “I was just thinking about that. Where do you want to go?”

That would shift the responsibility over to her. Wherever she wants to go is all right with me. The last thing I want to do is tell her where I want to go for lunch or dinner. I don’t have the palate for cuisine that she has.

The purpose of these “new tricks” is to divert attention away from me and put it back on her. I’m going to spend a lot of time this year studying and learning as many new tricks as I can.

There is another trick I need to focus on: when she asks me what I want for supper. She usually asks me right after lunchtime, when I’m not really hungry. I'm trying to think of what to say to take the pressure off me.

Maybe I could say, “Oh, my dear, anything you make would be pleasing to me. You’re the best chef I know.”

There was that one time when she slipped broccoli in, much to my disdain.

Not only is she good in the kitchen, but she is also good with clothing.

Sometimes, not often, she will come from the bedroom, stand before me, and ask, “I just bought this dress, what do you think of it?”

This is where I have a problem. I am at a loss when it comes to clothing. They all look the same to me. I can’t even tell the difference between colors. One color matches mine.

I look back at her and give it some thought. The only thing that comes to mind is, “Oh, my dear, anything you wear looks amazing.” And, I will smile my best smile. I don’t know how many times I can get away with it, but I’ll take it as far as I can go.

I couldn’t help but think of a verse from the Bible that is relevant to this subject.

“Can two walk together, except they be agreed?” (Amos 3:3).

Sometimes we need to agree to disagree. We have differing opinions and tastes. But the secret of a good relationship is to find that area where we agree. That becomes the foundation of our relationship and can bring blessings in.

Dr. James L. Snyder, is pastor of the Family of God Fellowship, 1471 Pine Road, Ocala, FL 34472. He lives with his wife in Silver Springs Shores. James is an award winning author whose books are available at https://amzn.to/2SMOjwO.

Call him at 352-687-4240 or e-mail [email protected]. The church web site is www.whatafellowship.com.