The "D" word

In the past few months, Ive had several friends, and family members become seperated, or divorced. This trend is quite upsetting to me. I see generally happy families being split up over things like money, and child rearing. Things that if every couple to have the fight divorced, well, needless to say the "family" would be an extinct idea.  Just today I had a neighbor confide in me her marital dilemmas, and its saddening. I know some of us have bigger issues. Addiction, and infidelity, among others.  However, are these things truly unforgivable sins? Does the old homage 'once a cheater always a cheater' speak truth?  Sometimes, maybe. But Ive seen the contrary too many times to give into old misguided sayings.  Ive been in the position of marital discourse more times than I can count. Going through nearly every issue under the sun, and learning to forgive, be forgiven and move on. Its not an easy task. Definately not for the faint of heart. But Ive always asked myself. Isnt my family worth it? My kids deserve to be raised in a 2 parent home if possible. Why are so many people so willing to give up their marriage without a fight?  Why do we expect our spouses to be perfect, when we dont fit the description ourselves? Surely we all have it in us to forgive.  Now, I understand some things are unforgivable, and I whole heartedly agree that divorce is the best option. Things like abuse, or continual infidelity or addiction problems. In these cases, please do what you need to do, but overall I think our culture has become lazy in terms of family and marriage. We made the decision to enter into a union with this other person. For better or worse. Some of us have alot more worse than better, but its these times that make us stronger people and can strengthen a marriage, causing us to lean on and support each other, or despise each other.  Why do our friends push us to "leave the jerk" ? Shouldnt a friend be a supportive, listening ear to help us find our way out of the darkness and gloom, wether it end up being divorce or otherwise? Marriage isnt supposed to be easy. Raising a family is not easy. Those TV sitcoms are not the reality of marriage. Fights arent resolved with a short, heated discussion and a laugh. Not at my house anyway. Kids are an ever-present force. Where are the kids in TV families? If only they only appeard and had conflict when it was pertinent to the 'episode' that week.  We as women should be strong, and fight for what we believe in. I believe in the family. And though this post will probably not do anyone any good, Ive been itching to get it out there. I will always support my friends in their decisions. I may not agree, and you can bet Im going to give you my 2 cents wether you like it or not. I wont pound it into your head.  But I do feel the need to share my own experiences, and try to help in anyway I can.  Just so you know. Work it out people. You may not be happy at the moment, but obviously you were happy once because you chose to marry and start a family with this person. I promise you can be happy again. It wont be all the time, and it wont be exactly the same. But you can be happy. It takes time and effort though. Something  in this age of convenience and impatience that people dont seem to be willing to put forth. Giving up is easier. Right? Just remember, the easy path isnt always the best path.