Some of your questions, while justified, I think I can answer for you. "Will people treat me differently to before?" Well, I am reminded of the hypothetical story of Fred the mechanic. Nobody knows much about Fred's private life, but there's to be a work Christmas Party and you can bring a partner. Some of the guys Fred works with say, "Oh, I reckon Fred's partner is tall, leggy, and has blonde hair halfway down her back and deep blue eyes." "No, I think she'd be short, with black hair, brown eyes and olive skin." The party is in swing and Fred walks in and people are surprised because Fred's partner is tall, muscular and dark skinned and has a couple of tattoos, but, surprise, surprise, Fred walks over and says, "I'd like you to meet my partner, Graham." Some might be a bit surprised and think, "What? But Fred seems so manly!" That's because they are following stereotypical gay men. The more enlightened ones will say, "Okay, but Fred is still Fred. Fred still has the same opinions as he had yesterday." And, if Fred is also autistic, they can say, "Yes, but, if you want to know what heat rating NGK Spark Plug to use in an EL Falcon, ask Fred and he'll know," that doesn't impact upon that. If Fred was happy replacing a head gasket, he's not going to suddenly come in on Monday morning and say, "Oh, no, I don't want to do a head gasket, I might get dirty."

"Will people believe you?" Well, here's the thing, does their skepticism really matter? I mean, if you go to the doctor and they tell you that you've got asthma, and some kid says, "Oh, so and so says they've got asthma. Pull the other one." Are they medically qualified?

"What if my wife hates the new me?" Well, okay, say you are a smoker and your workday routine goes something like this: arrive at the office at 8:30am, have your coffee break at 11am, and you go outside with a cup of coffee, a biscuit and a cigarette and you chat to a colleague while you both smoke and sip your coffee. You take your lunch break at 1pm, and eating, you go outside with a cup of coffee and a cigarette and talk to the same colleague while smoking. You return to your desk at 1:45pm. You take an afternoon tea break at 3:30pm, and you get a cup of tea and stand outside talking to your colleague while you smoke. You return to your desk at 3:45pm, and leave the office at 5:45pm. Then, you stop smoking, and as you don't go and join your colleague, your association becomes "Hi," and "Bye." That's because you no longer have the same common ritual. And that can happen at the end of school. I mean, Fred was in your Math class, but Fred wanted to do a trade and moved out to the mines, while you went to university in the city. And Fred wasn't exactly your best friend.

But your wife has married you. Okay, if you were a smoker and your wife wasn't, she might say that she likes having you around rather than you having to go outside and have a cigarette. Or, you were both smokers and one of you stopped but one didn't, that can change things. And yes, in Japan, and increasingly in Western societies, divorce after retirement is common because, if we applied the archaic gender roles, the man would get up in the morning and his wife would get his breakfast. He'd eat it, shower and go to work, taking the lunch she made for him, and he'd arrive home in the evening and have a drink and she'd put his meal on the table for him within about half an hour, he'd eat it and watch some TV and go to bed, and when he retired, he thought, "Is this who I'm married to?" And they've drifted so far apart.

But if your wife loves the quirks that you have, there's no reason why she shouldn't keep loving you. In fact, diverse though they are, think of Sir Thomas More and the Showa Emperor of Japan. When Sir Thomas More resigned as Lord Chancellor of England, he asked his wife if he was any different once his lordship was gone. And when the Showa Emperor renounced his divine status, he asked the Empress if he was any different. Just like I, when I took a number one before graduating with my bachelor's degree, I thought, "This is my last number one without letters after my name." I was proud to get my degree but I asked myself, "AM I any different now?" "Well, I have two letters after my name, and I strove hard for them, and proved some people wrong. But I'm still me." And you are still you.