Call Me Old Fashioned

I suppose I should start with a few acknowledgements: I acknowledge that I am single and have no children. I acknowledge that I cannot actually speak from experience on this matter, and that all I have are my opinions. If you don't want to know them, you should probably just stop reading now. That being said--

Call me old fashioned. I really don't mind, because I actually am quite old fashioned. I didn't necessarily think I was, but the older I get, the more I realize I am. So, I have noticed a disturbing trend in the world lately. Now, I should probably preface this upcoming rant a bit. Generally speaking, I am not a huge fan of most peoples' kids. I am largely put off by kids who have no respect for...well, anything. Their parents, other people, the world in general. I recognize that there are children out there who have been raised well and still have some respect and a limited sense of entitlement. But I digress....that is  a different rant for a different time, and is not really where this particular rant is headed.

The rant begins here. Despite the fact that I am not the biggest fan of all kids, I am completely confounded by the increasing number of women who are abandoning their husbands, children and wifely responsibilities to reclaim the single life. It is beyond my comprehension how a mother could just decide that she is tired of being a mom and walk away. Maybe it's because I was raised by the best mom a girl could ask for, but I have to ask-are we really living in a society so selfish that we can just decide, on a whim, that the vows we made can be cast aside as if they never were? Not to mention the fact that, at some point, you made the decision to bring that life into the world. Where is the sense of responsibility? Why is it suddenly acceptable to simply decide that getting married and having kids is not what you really wanted so duty and obligation be damned?

Aren't women supposed to be caring and nurturing by nature? When did it become okay to just walk away from a family? What ever happened to working on it? My parents are coming up on 53 years of marriage in a few months and they never would have made it that far had they not been willing to work together through the difficult times. I am certain that on more than one occasion, one or both of them thought about how much easier it would be to give up, but I am thankful they had the determination to make it work. It hasn't been perfect. Real life rarely is. But it has been good. Very good. And the older I get, the more thankful I am for parents who committed to one another then continued to work on it, even if they didn't always want to.

I am a firm believer that a woman should be able to take care of herself, and she is certainly not defined by the man in her life, but when did it become expected for us to behave as though we don't need or want anyone else? Human contact and relationships are important for our health and well being. It's admirable to be determined and self sufficient, but it's equally admirable to recognize that we need help and support. It makes me incredibly sad that the only thing that seems important anymore is sex. Quite frankly, you can get sex anywhere. It's the actual caring that is hard to find.

Perhaps the time has come for us to get back to our old fashioned roots. We should put aside our expectations of perfection and our selfish tendencies and get back to the days when hard work and dedication were important. In work, in relationships, in life.

Okay, I'll step off my soapbox now. But I reserve the right to reclaim my position without notice :)