Then Wanda proposed a health. "Health to abandoned wives! " she said. "Well now, " I said. "'Abandoned, ' that's a little strong." "Pushed out, jettisoned, abjured, thrown away, " she said. "I remember, " I said, "a degree of mutuality, in our parting." "And when guests came, " she said, "you always made me sit in the kitchen." "I thought you liked it in the kitchen, " I said. "You were forever telling me to get out of the bloody kitchen." "And when my overbite required correction, " she said, "you would not pay for the apparatus." "Seven years of sitting by the window with your thumb in your mouth, " I said. "What did you expect?" "And when I needed a new frock, " she said, "you hid the Master Charge." "There was nothing wrong with the old one, " I said, "that a few well-placed patches couldn't have fixed." "And when we were invited to the Argentine Embassy, " she said, "you made me drive the car in a chauffeur's cap, and park the car, and stand about with the other drivers outside while you chatted up the Ambassador." "You know no Spanish, " I pointed out. "It was not the happiest of marriages, " she said, "all in all." "There has been a sixty percent increase in single-person households in the last ten years, according to the Bureau of the Census, " I told her. "Perhaps we are part of a trend. Donald Barthelme
About This Quote

"There has been a sixty percent increase in single-person households in the last ten years, according to the Bureau of the Census," I told her. "Perhaps we are part of a trend." As a society, we have been moving toward a more independent life-style. Many of us prefer to live alone, without partners or children nearby. This shift has been going on for some time, and it's likely not going to stop any time soon.

A recent article by Dr. Jed Kolko explains that even so called "traditional" couples have been getting married later and staying married longer. In 1960, only one of every two people were married by age 30.

In 1990, that number was only one of every three people. In all likelihood, things will continue to change as more and more people choose to live life on their own terms.

Source: Sixty Stories

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