Bloody hard work!

Went to a dinner last night with the now (in)famous kindergarten committee. Was a real girls' night out - something I have always been pathetic at. Interesting choices of conversation: husbands, kids, Hollywood (i.e. Brad Pitt, George Clooney, etc. I killed that one with my declared devotion to Stephen Fleming as the 2nd hottest man on the planet), husbands (again), kinder stuff, religion and husbands, for a third round.

Everyone there was married for less than 7 years, except the teacher, who just had her 30th wedding anniversary. The Greenie and I are renewing our wedding vows this year - 10 years on. In those years we bought and renovated two houses, moved 5 times and switched countries twice. Had two kids, numerous jobs and 2 trips back to SA. Says the one mum last night: raising kids is the most difficult job on earth. I said I don't agree: it might be biggest responsibility I'll ever have and it will even be the most thankless (not counting volunteer work), but I do not think it is difficult. I think it is way harder to keep a marriage together. Your child is your own flesh and blood, you know what you are dealing with (well, at least half of the little person), but another human? Totally unrelated to you, with their own ideas, values and opinions ?Let alone differences in culture or language.

During those ten years we've seen several couples go their separate ways. Some married just a few years, some married for ages. It always breaks my heart. Maybe because I am such an eternal romantic and also firmly believe that people can change. The reasons for break-ups vary from in-law interference to stress to kids to 3rd parties. What do you do? Sad as it is, it is still a better way to walk on. The alternative is far too frequent on the newspages of South African papers: family murders and inevitable botched suicides.

I have been very fortunate to find the Greenie. He is the rock to my water and the earth to my sky. Solid. So here is to ten more years of hard labour!