The Infidelity Story Just Rolls On

When an infidelity story makes the front page, I can't help but wonder if it isn't there not just for the prurient interest factor, but also as another one of those little bells that ring every now and then to remind all of us that we are a lot closer to bad things ourselves than we'd like to think.

That old 'ask not for whom the bell tolls, it tolls for thee' probably is a good thing to remember on all kinds of issues.

Oh, I know, those are bad people who do those things, not people like me. And, maybe they are. I really don't know. I'm not trying to get them off the hook.

I do suspect that like every story in the newspaper, there's a lot more to it than is written there and there are as many stories about what really happened as there are people who are close to it. I feel for everyone involved. What a mess.

Now, it is Elizabeth Edwards speaking to the Detroit Free Press who is having to find a way to acknowledge what is with as much dignity as she can find and move forward. She didn't really say what "forward" will be at a deep personal level, but she did tell us that she's going to focus on her children and health care legislation. Sounds sane to me.

As for how she is coping with the broken trust, she also did an admirable job, saying that that is just too sensitive to talk about.

Every time I hear about another of these stories I feel like another Greek tragedy is playing itself out. The characters will either be transformed in some way, learn some great lesson, or be destroyed. And once the curtain is pulled back an the story starts to unfold, no one can do anything but play their part with as much dignity and integrity as they can muster.

There are experienced, professional people telling us lots of useful things about affairs, cheating, infidelity, or whatever else you call it. It's good stuff. It's helpful because this is one of those things in life that we don't want or need to know a lot about. Hopefully we'll never have to deal with it and if we do, we pray it is a one time aberration.

I discuss what some of them say and provide links to articles on my website, www.Better-Relationships-Over-50.com