Divorce, Generational Style

It is one of the cruel ironies of life that, sometimes, the same fate befalls us as has befallen generations before us. Each generation seeks to do better than the one that came before it. And, at times, it does. Other times, it simply succeeds at excelling in one area, while faltering in another. Such is life.

One area that I've always expected my generation to do better at is in relationships -- romantic ones, specifically. Don't ask me why. This wasn't even something I was aware of until fairly recently. As a child, we are often witness to the curious goings-on of the adults around us. Sometimes, but not often, this includes a glimpse into their relationships.

Divorce was something that made me go cold as a kid. You're growing up, and you're used to things being a certain way. There's always 'aunt & uncle so & so,' or a couple that your parents know whom you've always seen together. Then, one day, the aunt will come over distressed, ask to speak with your parents in-private, and you're whisked-off to your room. Or the couple stops coming over for game night, etc.

It's difficult for children to accept the separation of a long-term couple (be they married or otherwise). It's one of those unfortunate facts of life, like death, that is jarring and makes you re-think what you considered to be constants. It awakens you to the fact that, contrary to your previous worldview, life is about change, not about things always being a certain way.

While death is something I've grown accustomed to, divorce and/or the ending of long-term relationships still manages to jolt me front time to time. Because, you see, it's happening now to my peers. My generation is, it seems, just like the last one. Perhaps this shouldn't surprise me so much. We are, after all, only human, and therefore imperfect.

It's odd that I should have forgotten life's lessons about relationships all those many years ago, the truths about how they are, like us, finite. Perhaps it's because I'd subconsciously believed that my generation would somehow be immune to the issues of being with someone, that somehow we'd be better at it. This isn't to judge my peers, just to say that they've reminded me that life is change.

So it goes.