Recently, while I was waiting to order for lunch at a fast food joint, Dan, my long time friend and colleague informed me that he is getting divorced. He told me how his work that took him to different countries and allowed him to slowly climb the corporate ladder and impress the management had left his wife disillusioned as he was not spending enough time with her. He said that after nearly 20 years of marriage she was tired of the whole thing! So his beautiful house with a swimming pool and his 401k and the future of all their three kids were suddenly at stake. He did not know how it was going to turn out.
He was not emotional about it, but he told me how suddenly everything looked trivial at work and petty politics looked pointless. He said he did not regret losing the house or the 401k, but really felt bad about breaking up the family. He advised me to cherish and guard the family over everything else. I paused and took his advice to heart. I couldn't imagine carrying on with work if I did not have a family to come home to.
"You know what, life has dealt me a lousy hand and I am to play with it. But I have an ace in my hand that nobody knows about," Dan went on. "I am a single man now and I do not have any responsibilities any more. One of these days I might just say 'to heck with it all' and take my motorcycle and drive West. I will grow a beard and just enjoy the freedom for a while till I figure out what to do."
I did not know if he meant it seriously. But his eyes gleamed as he pondered on that possibility and it did seem like he was cherishing that thought.
