Meri's Musings

I've been carrying on an on-and-off conversation with an acquaintance of the male variety who is going through a divorce and is dealing with the sense of dislocation that results from losing that familiar structure. He's trying to figure out how to be single again and doesn't feel as if he's very good at it. Thinks he never was. I told him I thought that one of the underrated things about marriage is that in a marriage partner, you have a witness to your life. Someone is there to appreciate the moments, big or small. Someone celebrates your accomplishments and helps pick you up when you fall. Someone sees the cloud passing across your face and wonders if you'd like a back rub or cup of tea. Someone listens to your dreams and woes, validates your perceptions or perhaps reorients the way you see things. There are little love pats exchanged in passing, for no reason other than physically reinforce all the spoken "I love you"s. Even when there...