Lots of folks seem convinced the biggest cause of unhappy marriages is poor communication. They may be right, except that they try to solve the problem by saying more or demanding their mate answer their accusations. Say you start off with the wrong assumption. For example, you mistake grumpiness for criticism because, like so many of us, you’re expecting someone who promised to love you...
Many thanks to my son for spotting this and to xkcd.com for letting me share it with you.
“The kids are grown. They have their own car. One’s in college. The other is going next year. Why don’t you get a job? We could really use the money.” “I want to. But not just any job. I can’t go back to what I was doing. I need coworkers I can stand being around. And I need to keep doing something meaningful. I am not sure I could stand working in an insurance...
“I’m not happy.” How awful to realize this, awful enough to make you want to make a big change, like leaving the person you imagined could make you happy for the rest of your life. “I’m scared silly” would be different. So would “I’m really angry, and I’m not going to take it any more.” “Not happy” carries no danger, no...
From a disturbing report on All Things Considered, right before the start of this year’s Smart Marriages Conference: “Many of these parents are children of divorce — born in the early ’80s when divorce rates peaked. Today, these parents say they’d rather raise a child alone or with multiple partners than risk putting that child through a divorce.” I want to...
