Recently, I Met a Woman Walking Down the Street with Her Eighteen-Month-Old Daughter, Oblivious to Everything Around Her

Recently, I bumped into a woman I know, out for a walk with her one-and-a-half-year-old daughter, blissfully oblivious to everything going on around her.

Hello there, mate. Sopicture this: Im strolling down the high street, and there she is, my old friend, wheeling her toddler along like she’s the only soul in Surrey. I actually had to shout her name, otherwise she wouldve sailed right past me. When she finally clocked me, her face lit up for all of two seconds before that odd, glazed look crept back in. Naturally, I asked what was up andwellout it all spilled, the whole sorry saga of domestic disasters.

She and her husband tied the knot for love, as you do. The courtship was straight out of a Richard Curtis film: bouquets, rom-com moments, the lot. After the wedding, he treated her like she was made of crystalpractically swept her off her feet every chance he got. They did their best to keep the peace when life got a bit bumpy.

But then their daughter arrived and the whole set-up shifted, as if someone had changed the channel without warning. Her husband got to experience the joys of parenthood, and it clearly wasnt what hed ordered. The poor man works from home and found the shrieking, squalling baby less than ideal for productivity. Most of the childcareno surprises herefell to his wife. Still, every so often, hed get a taste of the chaos and end up grumbling.

With his wife on maternity leave and their income shrinking faster than a woolly jumper in a hot wash, he decided to use this as the perfect excuse to lump absolutely everything on her. Eventually, he demanded she hurry back to work and let one of the grandparents take over on the baby front.

His logic? He refused to believe a granny couldnt wrangle a toddler and made it clear their household needed more pounds in the bank. He investigated every possibility, including sending the child off to a full-time day nursery, simply to dodge nappy duty himself. From that point on, he stopped handing his wife any money for the weekly shop and took to doing it himself, convinced she wasted the family funds on frivolous nonsense (like, heaven forbid, avocados and hummingbird cake).

She started heading out moreparks, playgrounds, anywhere but indoorsjust to have a break from her loving husband.

My poor friend asked me what on earth she was supposed to do. I was utterly useless, of course. Get a divorce? Out of the question. Flawed as he was, she adored Simon and was far too attached to him for all that drama. Besides, with their little girl growing up, she didnt want to split the family and have the child shuttling from one parent to the other. She was just worn out from constantly being made to feel guilty about not bringing home the bacon, when frankly, it wasnt even her fault.

As we said goodbye, I found myself trotting out all the generic adviceBe strong, Things will work out, and Hang in there. And honestly, I do hope thats true.