Hello everyone:

One of my students told me this story. It deals with someone always looking for more but learning that the grass is not always greener in another pasture. He learned this when his third wife put him out to pasture.

My student knew a man, who we will call “the Colonial,” as a patient at a home for veterans. My student realized that the man never had any visitors, in spite of having been a man of considerable influence during the span of his military career.

The Colonel shared his story in small parts, over a period of time. He had been married three times, ditching each of his first two wives after they hit the ripe old age of 40, saying “they just kind of lose something around that age, you know?”

He had children with his first two wives, and now has a boatload of grandchildren, who he no longer sees. His third wife (who is now in her mid-40s) was “the best darn divorce lawyer in town.” She now lives comfortably in the house the Colonial paid for, using money from his investments to support her lifestyle. She does not come to see him, preferring the company of younger men to that of her bitter, chronically ill, late-80’s husband.

His kids and grandchildren hate him; his current wife ignores him. He did not make very good plans for his own future, placing great importance on having a trophy wife, but not understanding what would happen to him if he became institutionalized. He seemed to always think that he would find happiness with his next wife, especially if she was young and beautiful. His life would have taken a different turn if he had stayed with the “wife of his youth” and not kept looking…..and looking.

Do you have any similar stories to share?

Best,

Dr. Sheri