Time for a rant! Guys, you may want to abstain from reading this unless you are pretty sure you do not fit into the male category I call the “consumer husband”.
I have several pet peeves but this one probably tops all others. In fact, it may not even qualify as a pet peeve. I absolutely loathe this trend of consumerism in marriage. What do I mean by this? I am talking about husbands (I am sure some women do it, too but I don’t know any personally) who think it is perfectly acceptable and justified to “throw away” your spouse and children if things are not going according to plan.
Married for 20 years with two children? Wife not satisfying all your needs? Kids not turning out how you wanted them to turn out? No problem! Get rid of them and start all over again.
It is truly scary to think of how many women (families really) I know that have been victims of this mindset. Now, let’s be very clear. I totally believe that if things are absolutely awful in a marriage, say there is abuse or lack of respect, drug problems or alcoholism do get out of it as soon as you can. This is not what I am referring to in this blog.
We all would love to be able to be young again, start again, have a second chance at doing it right. We all have disappointments in life and not many of us can say their lives turned out just the way they envisioned them. But that does not justify betraying those who love us the most, those who sacrificed a lot for us, those who depend on and need us. It does not justify throwing a lifetime of memories away for the sake of the novelty of new ones. Marriages and people are not disposable. They are well worth fighting for and those who don’t are cowards in my book.
I am ranting for all the women I know who were discarded like old shoes and begrudged of their rights by consumer husbands with no moral standards and incapable of loving anyone but themselves. I am ranting against this concept (that applies to a lot more than just marriages) of don’t-like-it-replace-it.
Marriage is messy. We all know that. Marriage is also a promise, an oath that should carry weight and have deep meaning. Not something you discard as soon as the going gets tough. Enough said. Rant over. At ease, people, at ease!
Author Natalina Reis 