I used to live with my ex-wife, Sae, and our two elementary school kids. Six months ago, when the topic of putting my dad into a care facility came up, I took my sister’s advice and threatened Sae with divorce, hoping to get her to cover some of the costs. To my surprise, it actually ended in divorce. But after moving back in with my parents, I realized I had been relying on Sae’s income all along and that she had been financially supporting me. Six months later, I met up with Sae and bowed my head to ask for a second chance. My sister had told me to “apologize completely and get her to forgive you.”
Since then, I’ve been doing everything I can to expand my work options so I can reliably pay child support for my kids. Life was so much easier back when we were married, and I was happy feeling the warmth of our family. Why on earth did I bring up divorce back then?
I’m sure I was just constantly leeching off Sae, completely blind to reality. I brought this all on myself. No matter how much I wish for it, those happy days are never coming back. “There’s no use crying over spilled milk”—that’s exactly what this is. And that’s how I live through every single day.
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