Sometimes it's hard to tell what's going on inside someone's house. After all, that's a key selling point for most of us when we're looking for somewhere to live: privacy. That and shelter from the elements, of course.
Around the corner from my house, there are two homes in particular that have changed drastically in the past several months. It's obvious from the outside that things are different, although I don't pretend to know what things are like on the insides of them.
The closest one changed last year. Where there used to be two cars that came and went, there is only one. Where there were kiddie toys strewn about the garage, there's now a not-a-toy motorcycle. Where there were feminine elements adorning the front door, the windows and the flowerbeds, there is a barren wasteland of bachelorhood. Divorce? Seems like it. Certainly not my business. But it's a house I pass by nearly every day, and it seems like a sad abode rather than a happy home. The outside embelllishments aside, one's heart has to at least ache a little when promises made could not be kept, for whatever reasons.
The same story is apparent on the other side of the street, several houses down. Where there were two cars that came and went, there is a new single-cab pickup truck. There was a young boy who'd play in the front yard; he's gone. I've seen the now-single man of the house, and he is the same one who lived there when things were different. Divorce? Separation? Again, not my business. But once again the home has lost something it had before.
Obviously, one does not have to be married or even have a significant other to be happy. But when the foundation of a union cracks, it brings not only a void but fills with something else – something not as diserable. And I'm not talking about the wrong assumption that all divorcees are damaged goods. That is simply not the case. There are legitimate reasons to divorce (although the Bible says that adultry is the only forgivable reason). A broken union fills with sadness, whether the breakup was for the "best" or not.
Our home is missing something, too. Whenever one of the inhabitants is not feeling 100 percent, that does affect big and little things. Overall, however, ours is still a happy home. We're committed to getting through things together. As a couple, the Petite Filet and I have survived through previous illness, a miscarriage, deaths of loved ones, illnesses of loved ones, living on one income, living with one car and a plethora of other pains. As a family (baby makes three), I know we are even more strong. That doesn't make us any better than anyone else, just blessed.
I wish for great blessings to you, and that your home is able to celebrate the joys of joys to help spackle over the sorrows of sorrows.
Interesting observations. Strange, growing up, my neighborhood did not change very much except for the lone rent house up the street. Nowadays, it seems your neighbors are total strangers who come and go with the cycle of the moon.
I'm not one of those people who thinks that people should stay together "no matter what", but I do think that people give up to easily on marriage. The saddest kind of break-up is when one person wants to quit but the other wants to keep trying. To me, that is heartbreaking.