Last weekend my kids—Blaizon (age 6) and Arianna (age 5)—and I packed up and went for a two day outing with my brother, Ron, his fiancée, Gilma, and her seven-year-old son, Danny. Ron and I had not spoken to each other for six months owing to some hurt feelings over an altercation that we had the last time we all took a trip together. It was time to put all of that behind us and, besides, my kids had been complaining that they never got to see Danny, and I was running out of honest excuses to give them. Members of my family had also been putting pressure on me to patch things up with Ron. The funny thing is, Ron and I really never spoke about why we didn’t speak, and we still haven’t spoken about not speaking.
My friend, Grace, is going through a divorce right now, a misfortune that we share in common. Her breakup has not been bitter or deceitful or raucous, and her husband has never raised a hand to her or their two kids. He did not pick fights or sleep around. He was not controlling or manipulative, and he will not likely withhold support or run away from his obligations. In fact, she has a hard time pinning down exactly why she wants to divorce him—at least when it comes to articulating it such that others can sympathize with her.
