(903) Foreign bride

People often fall in love with persons from other countries. While such marriages may work well for some, it may not for others.


Let us look at the life of my cousin's friend. We will call her Ariel. She married her college sweetheart. Both decided to work and live in the country they chose for their education. There they stayed for ten years. By the time their three children were born, the husband was given a very good offer to start a branch in the Pacific region. They relocated with much hassle. The entire family took a while to settle down. The children were resilient, after all, it was no hardship studying in an expensive international school. Ariel missed her old job and friends. Well, she busied herself making a lovely home for her husband and growing children. After she trained her maid provided by the generous employer, she actually found time to teach part-time in her children's school.

Another eleven years passed. This couple now approached middle age. During a global down turn, Ariel's husband was offered early retirement. Should he refuse, he would have to return to work in the headquarters in North America. After much deliberation, the family opted for two different paths.  Ariel took her children to her home country, she would spend about a year caring for her terminally ill mother. The children would continue their education.  The father returned to his home country.  While he spent time with his ailing father, he planned to look for business opportunity. Each vacation found the children flying across the oceans to spend time with their father.

Ariel's mum passed away around the time doctors said she would.  Ariel felt devastated. Everyone encouraged her to look for a job. It was fate that she found her dream job, one that she had taken the trouble to qualify herself before and after her children were born. All three children love their mum's home country. And so they encouraged the father to wind up his small business in his home town to join them.

Here is where the differences cannot be reconciled. The required number of years passed, both husband and wife refused to relocate. And the marriage ended on the rocks. Ariel's ex readily found happiness in a second marriage. It was not so with Ariel, she turned bitter as she clings to her job living near her sisters.

* DHR 358 flower.jpg from myweddingflowerideas.co.uk