I met an old friend Sunday in the parking after Mass. I was surprised to see him because he didn’t live anywhere near that parish.
We spoke for a few minutes and I asked him why he was up in this neck of the woods and he looked painfully over my shoulder and said that he’d just rented an apartment nearby because he was getting a divorce. As you can imagine I felt like an absolute idiot for bringing it up so I told him how sorry I was and asked about how the kids were doing. He has three kids and I’ve always known him to be a dutiful and loving father. But he said the strangest thing. He said he thought that the kids wanted what was best for their parents. He said that if he and his wife were happier apart then the kids would be happier.
Now, I have no idea what went on in his marriage but this statement is so far from my lived reality that I didn’t know how to respond. I don’t think my kids are the worst kids in the world but I don’t think they’re all that concerned with my happiness.
