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"Last year I attended a women only function. A diverse group of women circled, eating scones and sipping beverages. I ended up on the porch where the subject of marriage came up, as well as the different expectations women have of their husbands. You could practically see the invisible line drawn between the older generation of women and the younger.  One woman in her thirties was going through a divorce due to her husband cheating on her while on business. An older lady patted her on the knee, and said she understood. &amp;quot;The same thing happened to me when my husband went off to war.&amp;quot; &amp;quot;Oh, so you left him also?&amp;quot; The younger woman asked. &amp;quot;Heavens no,&amp;quot; the older one responded. &amp;quot;Why would I do that? I had three kids to raise. I didn&amp;#039;t work. Besides, men will be men.&amp;quot; She then went back to sipping her tea, as if she had just mentioned her husband went to a ball game instead of fixing a leaking toilet like he&amp;#039;d promised. &amp;quot;With all due respect,&amp;quot; the younger woman went on, &amp;quot;But how could you just turn a blind eye? Weren&amp;#039;t you furious?&amp;quot; The elderly lady continued, &amp;quot;Well, sure, I was a bit miffed. My pride was hurt that some cute Japanese barmaid was sleeping with my husband while I was putting young babies to bed at night. But I also saw it for what it was: He was lonely. He had needs. I knew that when he was home with me, that was something for his memory books.&amp;quot; Now the younger woman was getting huffy. &amp;quot;I don&amp;#039;t get it. I mean, I could never have forgiven my husband. In fact... I didn&amp;#039;t. I won&amp;#039;t. I am sooo out.&amp;quot; Her voice was getting higher. The silence was deafening. The older woman just refilled her cup - as porcelain and stoic as her face. &amp;quot;That is your choice to let a silly affair ruin your happy home life. I didn&amp;#039;t want to. My kids grew up with a father.&amp;quot; &amp;quot;A father who cheated on their mother,&amp;quot; the younger woman interjected. The older lady set down her cup. Her voice got firm - not loud, but resolved. &amp;quot;A father who had his needs met when he was overseas and did not do it again as far as I could see.&amp;quot; &amp;quot;Clearly you didn&amp;#039;t see much - with the blind eye and all,&amp;quot; the younger lady shot back. The older lady wasn&amp;#039;t phased, &amp;quot;You&amp;#039;re probably right, but I&amp;#039;m happier. So who wins in the end?&amp;quot; That&amp;#039;s when the younger woman began to cry. But she stifled it quickly with some tissues. After all, the bride to be had just walked in the room to open gifts. She didn&amp;#039;t want to ruin her joy. People, I can&amp;#039;t make this stuff up. What do you think? Did women back then have it easier than we did since they were more accepting? Or were they not as accepting as they&amp;#039;d let us believe? * Photo of the kids Great Grandma Stella at my wedding. She was 80 back then and looked 60 if a day. She&amp;#039;s not the woman from the story, but I bet if you asked her, she&amp;#039;d agree with the elderly lady&amp;#039;s viewpoint, despite her youthful spirit! Viva la Stella! "^^<http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema#string>
<http://www.goodhousekeeping.com/life/relationships/a22253/an-affair-to-remember-or-forge/>