That perfect couple

Fortunately, the noise of Valentine’s day and its overrated expectations is over. So, if you have not already gone out of your way to spoil someone, you have a lifetime to reflect on sincere ways of showing love to them on a daily basis.
As one advances in age and experience, the younger generation, seem to think that you know a thing or two more than them, hence you become a confidant for some, and though one’s advice and suggestions might not be acted upon, you have at least been a rock to lean against and a shoulder to cry on.

In the past few years, I have been approached by some young couples who were challenged in their relationships, mainly ones who have entered the golden cage of marriage. I am not exactly the best advisor, nor am I a role model, but I have one attribute that I find very important when dealing with such challenges: a good listener, with a huge reservoir of patience.

Listening to couples who have not yet got children is easier than ones with children. In the former, if all attempts to build trust and hope fail, two people will separate. Each will seek a new path and along the way they might find their lost dreams. In the case of couples with children, it is a different story, one that involves young lives that may be shattered because of this separation.

If the causes of the drift are not excessive, such as violence or infidelity, anything else is solvable and should be discussed in detail, so that the root cause is found and eliminated.
The reasons for separation can vary from one society to the other, culture and social norms also have a great influence on how things will evolve between the estranged couple.

In Middle East cultures, having the title of a divorced woman is almost stigma, while the man can easily get away with it, and even get married soon after, many women put up with an unhappy marriage, to avoid being branded as a divorcee.
But there are also couples, who prefer to stay in the matrimonial house for the sake of their children, and while they are working on improving their relationship, their children get the benefit of having both parents in a loving home. There are no perfect couples it seems, but there are those who try.