50%

A few years ago, there was a statistic that said 50% of American marriages end in divorce.

That's half- cup half full or half empty, either way, that is a staggering amount of people who tie the knot and then cut ties. (Enough cliches for ya?)

Before I got married (and occasionally even now) that statistic scares me.  I think I heard that it's less than that now, down to 34% or something like that, but still.  That's a heckuva lot of people.

And then, the other day, I saw the answer. It was plain as day. And it filled me with rage when I saw it, and then pity at all of the people watching the same program I was who didn't realize that what they were watching was complete and utter garbage.

I'm talking about Khloe' and Lamar, and every other shit "reality" TV show like it.   On the show (I watched 2 episodes, and will never get that time back. EVER. It haunts me...) Lamar doesn't sleep.  He is up most of the night, and occasionally sleeps for an hour or two.  I don't know if he's on drugs or what, but that on its own is crazy. Not the worst thing I saw, though.

So Khloe' complained about needing a bit more sleep, something closer to what most humans need to, you know, survive.  Lamar wouldn't let her sleep, kept bouncing around in their bedroom, talking to her and acting like a hyper five year old. And Khloe' not only allowed this, but fed into it.  She tries to look up things to help her darling husband sleep, and tries these whale songs, a massage, I think there were even some essential oils.

Lamar tried it for less than 10 minutes, then resumed being loud and annoying.  So, what does Khloe' do? Do they have an adult conversation where she says, "Sweetheart, I know you can't sleep, and that's ok," -not normal, but moving on- "but I need to get some rest.  Would you find something quiet to do in another part of the house so I can get some sleep?" and he could say, "Sure, I'm sorry I've been keeping you up.  Good night!"

Nope. Not even close.

Instead, she tries to drug her husband without his knowledge so that he will sleep.  I'm going to repeat that: she tried to DRUG her HUSBAND so that he would sleep. Without his knowledge or consent. One of their 'friends' was there and saw her slip the pills (yup...) into Lamar's tea, which she was then going to have him drink.  The friend warns Lamar and he doesn't drink the "sleepy time" tea.

Now, this is where I would have fiery rays of rage spewing from my eyes as I freaked out at my significant other for attempting to drug me.  WHO DRUGS THEIR PARTNER?!?! And who doesn't get at least a little angry that their partner decided to drug them rather than have a real conversation about what was going on? Take a wild guess.

Lamar takes this opportunity to realize that his wife was serious, she DOES need to sleep, so he calls a friend (another one?) to come hang out at their house while Khloe' sleeps.

The End. (That really was the end of the episode.)

I understand where that 50 (or 34) % is coming from now.  And I don't feel scared for myself or the married people I know.   We know how to have a conversation rather than resorting to drastic measures to fix things.  It's not always pretty, it's not always perfect, but dammit, I know I don't have to look for floating pieces of pills in my hot chocolate.