Counting your blessings... each day

So Bill and Melinda Gates decided to call it quits a few days back. After 27 years of being married and many more of being together; raising three kids and a mega multinational company; and after making a significant impact on our world through their philanthropic efforts, the two admitted in a tweet that ‘after a great deal of thought and a lot of work on our relationship, we have made the decision to end our relationship’. The two went on to say, ‘we no longer believe we can grow together as a couple in the next phase of our lives’.

To tell you the truth, I was shocked when I came to know if it. Not because they seemed like a couple who had it all worked out, both in life and in their professions, but after so many years of being together one would assume they would’ve succeeded in smoothening out the rough edges in their relationship; would’ve learnt to forgive each other’s idiosyncrasies, and would’ve become more accepting of each other.

Clearly not.

It must be Covid, surmised a friend, who like million others is happy to place the blame for all that is wrong in the world at the doorstep of the pandemic. Maybe, maybe not, I said. While there is truth in the fact that prolonged proximity during lockdowns and quarantine has had an adverse impact on marital relationships, there is no denying that when you dig deep you’ll realise skirmishes or no skirmishes, relationships – just like everything else that breathes – wilt once they reach a plateau.

So is there a solution? A formula that ensures relationships survive the hurdles?

I guess it’s a work in progress... Just like how life is.

I was shocked when I came to know of Bill and Melinda Gates’ divorce because they seemed like a couple who had it all worked out, both in life and in their professions ... clearly not