Not long ago, I bumped into a woman who was strolling down the street with her one-and-a-half-year-old daughter, seemingly oblivious to everything around her.
Hello, my friend. Just recently, I ran into a woman I know, taking a walk along the high street with her little daughter, who couldnt have been much more than eighteen months. She was so lost in thought she would have passed by without noticing me if I hadnt called out. When she finally looked up and recognised me, her face lit up for a moment, but then a kind of odd indifference settled back over her features. I asked her what was wrong, and thats when she told me everythingher family was going through a rough patch.
She and her husband had married for love. Their engagement was wonderful, full of romantic gestures, laughter, and just the two of them together. After the wedding, her husband treated her like a queen, always attentive and doing whatever he could to make her happy. They did their best to keep peace in the home even as life took them in different directions.
But when their daughter was born, everything changed drastically. Her husband, now very much a father, realised what it truly meant to have a childand he didnt much care for it. He worked from home, and the noise and fuss from a fussy baby made it nearly impossible for him to concentrate. Most of the childcare fell to his wife, but there were occasions where even he wasnt spared from the demands placed on both of them.
He took advantage of the fact that she was on maternity leave, and their household income had shrunk. Leaning into this, he made her take on even more of the childcare. Not long after, he insisted she go back to work and let one of the grandparents look after their daughter.
Whenever she protested that her mother or his might be too old to care for such a young child, he refused to listen. He was adamant: they needed more money coming in, and that was that. He checked every possible optionincluding full-time nurseriesif only to avoid looking after the girl himself. Soon, he stopped giving his wife cash for the weekly shop, insisting on doing it himself instead, certain that she was spending their money too freely and buying things they didnt need.
Increasingly, she chose to leave the house, taking her daughter to nearby parks and playgrounds, anything to be away from the tension at home.
My friend looked at me desperately and asked what she ought to do, but honestly, I couldnt give her any decent advice. Divorce? Out of the questiondespite his faults, she truly loved Edward and was simply too attached to him. She didnt want her daughter to grow up without both parents, and she was weary of constantly being blamed for not earning money when it was hardly her fault.
When it was time for us to part, all I managed were the usual platitudes like, Keep your chin up, Things will get better, and Itll all work out eventually. I sincerely hope that turns out to be true.
