About once every two months, I meet up for lunch with a group of friends I name The Birthday Girls. As that suggests, we meet up around the time when one of us has a birthday. Not necessarily the same week as the birthday even, but close enough that we all have a common date free in our diary. There are ten of us altogether, although not all of us can manage all of the dates. On average there are about 7 or 8 of us at any one time. We know one another going back decades and first met when our children were at nursery age.
A few weeks ago saw such a meeting to celebrate L's birthday. She dropped the bombshell that she and her husband of over 30 years have just separated. About a month ago, another one announced she was separated from her long-term partner. It got me thinking that in our group:
- 3 are married still
- 3 of us are widows
- 4 are divorced or separated
So in other words only 3 out of 10 are still in a relationship. That is quite a staggering statistic for such a small group of friends.
11 comments:
Thinking of my book group of 8 people........6 of us have been married for around 40/50 years. One remarried after a divorce many years ago, and one whose husband had an affair, but they are still together.
Sometimes it takes stamina to live with one person for all your adult life. Thankfully, I have the patience of a saint!
Nine years ago this month we had a party to celebrate my parents’ diamond wedding and six couples who had been their friends all their lives came and I remember thinking how lucky they all were to have each other after all that time.
That is much better than our group
Blessed be the pure in heart (or words to that effect!)
Indeed. The kaw of averages are that not all couples enjoy good health for that long,.
Law of averages!
I am 72, husband 69, I retired 5 years ago, he retired 6 months ago. I have found he is quite cranky and irritable some days, in fact on Saturday I wanted to rip his head off 😂. It is taking me some time to get used to him being around. I’m not thinking of moving out at all, but I think it’s a brave move for women to decide to move on at this age, to want to be able enjoy the years they have left. Marie, Melbourne, Australia
I have heard of this before. When you're both busy working or bringing up a family, you don't notice the irritating little things until you have to spend more time together during retirement. I guess it's important for you each to have your own hobbies and pasttimes so that you do get some time away from one another which makes the coming together more enjoyable.
You must be referring to Londoners Addy. Up North we stick together and generate different statistics.
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