That said, when you wrote “I have to believe that Wade will be there,” you kind of lost me. It’s not that I think we should spend our lives thinking about “what will I do if he leaves me,” but I do think that women, perhaps especially SAHMs, should plan their financial futures so that they won’t be left with nothing if there is a divorce, a death, a disability, or unemployment. All of these things can and do happen. The point isn’t to bank on the uncertainty of a marriage, but rather to plan so that if that income isn’t there, there’s a back-up.

Yes, I do think that all women should be trained for some sort of career for this eventuality. That’s a belief, though, and not necessarily the way I live my life. (I’ve just spent the last 5 years working part-time because I’m reluctant to go into another career and the job market in my career sucks. This has turned out to be both a smart career move and dumb financial move, so go figure.)

See? Donna is right! BE PREPARED!

BTW, unlike other unpredictabilities in life, hopefully we all have an idea of exactly when we’ll next need our margarita-blending skills. Isn’t that the Girl Scout Motto? Be Prepared (To Make A Margarita). Or something.

How about this: Divorce is hard on families, emotionally AND financially. And women–adult people IN GENERAL–should ALWAYS have a back-up plan, for an illness or accident or divorce or whatever life may throw at you. And while you can’t live in fear, you can’t ignore reality.

Donna said that the ability to work was like the ability to make a good margarita–you never know when you’ll need it, but when the occasion arises, it’s a good skill to have.

Amen.

Is it a certain demographic? Am I out of the loop? Is it “starter” marriages? Come to think of it… I do know several couples who had, ahem, short-term, marriages early on and are now part of a long-term couple…. Is it calculating in multiple divorces? Hell, I figure keeping Zsa Zsa Gabor and Elizabeth Taylor in the equation probably does more to safe guard my marriage than counseling, cooking dinner & sexual favors combined…

I’m just sayin’…that stat has been around a long time and I’ve never thought to question where it came from or if it is still accurate.

And you know what makes me batty? (Among other things…) When people refer to a father watching his kids as “baby sitting” and are so impressed and proud of him.

I don’t know what that had to do with the conversation going on here but someone just said something stupid in the real world and I had to vent….