MUTUAL RESPECT in a marriage...

I had the privilege of working with a young-looking woman who is a mother of three, in a voluntary group and she was always contributing her time and effort willingly and selflessly in the voluntary activities. We have somehow lost touch for almost five years. Lately, I sent birthday greetings to her via SMS and e-mail. The e-mail got through to her but not the SMS because she has changed her mobile number. She called me a couple of days later.

She has consistently kept her registered trademark of "Cheerful Smiles" even after having lost touch for so many years. While laughing out loudly over the phone, she told me she had sold her flat and moved quite far away from her previous place. I asked her why she did that. She expected me to venture a smart guess but I wasn't too smart really. Eventually, she told me gladly over the phone that she was divorced. That was something that I would never have expected, and in fact, many of her close friends didn't believe her either. She has always been so jovial and happy. She seems to be able to manage her feelings very well and never let the adverse conditions show up in her daily life.

She told me that she has finally regained her freedom because throughout her marriage, she has been tightly controlled, even remotely, by her ex-husband. It is good that her three children are with her, two of them are already working. She is 48 but looks much younger than her age.

I think a marriage is intended for husband and wife to complement each other and to contribute to each other's happiness and joy, rather than to imprison each other. Each should be given their personal space to explore their own passions and mutual respect should be observed at all time. Never try to make over your wife or husband and stop trying to make the other a second edition of yourself.