Quote for the day (8/26/2008)

From Ellen Tien:

Divorce is no longer the shame that spits stain upon
womanly merit. Conventional wisdom decrees that marriage takes work, but it
doesn't take work, it is work. It's a job -- intermittently fulfilling and
annoying, with not enough vacation days. Divorce is a job too (with even fewer
vacation days). It's a matter of weighing your options.

Here is a link to the complete article.
http://www.cnn.com/2008/LIVING/personal/08/26/o.divorce.dreams/

I have been feeling particularly in need of company lately and I really enjoyed Ellen Tien's take on marriage and divorce. And while she made this comment about divorce, I rather feel this way about marriage:

Having choices is a cornerstone of strength: Choosers won't be
beggars. "Thinking about divorce is kind of like living in New York City with
its museums and theater and culture," a doctor friend of mine said. "You may
never actually go to any of these places, but for some reason, just the idea
that you could if you wanted to makes you feel better."

In my many attempts to rebuild my life between disasters, I find myself much less tolerant of things that used to just be. People who don't call when they say they will. Dogs who try to eat people when they shouldn't. Cats who seem to forget who you are until you have food in your hand. Among these things, I have discovered one rather irritating thing about myself - as I rebuild my life I still go marching right in to the next disaster thinking "Maybe this time will be more fun than the last even if the outcome isn't any better!" And off I go.

While "an optimist" is not generally the word people think of when they think of me, I guess in a crazy way I am. I can't help but believe there is a reward out there, and the journey of life is finding it.