(727) Vows - a dangerous thing to make

It is strange that people make vows after a heart break that affect the rest of their lives.

Paul is a personable young man. He has been an upright church man since his teens and he serves faithfully in his capacity as a guitarist in the music team in his home church. During his pre-university years he was sweet heart to a well-to-do girl. Unfortunately, shortly after she left to study abroad. They managed to keep up their romance with frequent phone calls and vacations in the home country for two years after her departure. Then the calls from abroad lessen. She came back with a handsome young man in tow. Paul was waiting to receive her at the airport. She gave him a nice expensive shirt from abroad and handed him her wedding invitation. He attended her wedding, very much a gentleman.

At that point he turned against all female graduates, vowing never to get involved with any again. Years later he married a girl with minimum high school education. There is nothing against this girl, she is sweet and loyal to him. Only thing is there is no high earning potential  for her since she has little education. He is an engineer with an ambition and both he and his wife like the finer things in life. They often overspend and require rescues from their parents.

Few days back Michael's(my son)  friend returned from overseas and moaned about how girls in our hometown are materialistic and mercenary. He said he must look for a village girl who is simple and innocent. We heard about his failed courtship with a very bright scholar who demanded that he return the same year with her. She wanted to go to work to support her family. He wanted a year to gain some working experience in the country he studied in. And so they parted. To me, it was not meant to be. If a girl is that demanding before marriage, she would be wearing the pants on behalf of her husband after the wedding bells. He was probably very hurt. But the crux of the matter was not the fact that she has an overseas education. It is rather her strong character and the fact that she did not trust him to be faithful to her the remaining year he has overseas. She has some very fix idea that her beloved has to return with her, work for a year and then they get married. If he wrote all female graduates off because of one shrew, he will be the loser himself.