My View On “The Divorce Generation”
I’m a boomer, born in 1946. After a very fast courtship I married an Australian girl during the Vietnam War and we just celebrated our 41st wedding anniversary. I don’t know what the secret is for a happy marriage but I do know that in our marriage the 3 kids always came second. (In fact they are all now in their 30s and still joke- half-joke?- about the matter.) Although we came from two different nationalities our backgrounds were very similar- her father an Australian government official, mine a US Naval Officer. Education levels roughly similar both of us with college degrees, neither of us terribly religious but tolerant of those who are, similar attitude to money- each wanting the other to spend money on him or her-self- and politically very conservative fiscally but socially liberal. We always ensured that we had some time off together annually without the children either extended trips (a week or so where we left the kids with a sitter) or weekly time out to dinner and a show or on the golf course. I do know that over the years we have both changed and fortunately done so roughly in sync, and we have had the added benefit of reasonably good health (with a few hiccups along the way). We are also competitive duplicate bridge partners which leads to the odd quiet (or very noisy-take your pick) ride home after a bad night at the tables. So, I guess our secret is: similar backgrounds and values but a strong willingness to communicate-not always quietly- with a friendship that has deepened over the years by virtue of shared leadership activities and the fact that we each know the other is the most important person in our life.
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