A very dear friend had talked of leaving her husband for years. I always encouraged her to stay and work it out, saying “Divorce is not an option”. But year after year, almost since the first year of marriage, she spoke of divorce. It seemed they never worked anything out but were trapped in that act/react cycle so many married people encounter.

After not hearing from her for several months, I called her. She was at her husband’s office balancing his bank statement, something he had put off so long it had become an almost impossible task. His procrastination had long been one of her complaints. My friend was usually the kindest, most caring person I’d ever met, but that day she was very short toward me as we talked. I wondered what I had done.

It was not a conversation I cared to linger in, so I hung up quickly. I thought about the conversation for several days, and the way she had treated me. Finally, I thought, “If it’s that bad, why don’t you just leave”? That kind of surprised me as I’ve never been an advocate of divorce. But what was really weird was that after seventeen years of marriage, within just a few weeks she did!!!