Jack Sprat could eat no fat/His wife could eat no lean/And so betwixt the two of them/They licked the platter clean

A nursery rhyme, silly at first glance, but depicting perfect teamwork. In harmony, this couple is satisfied by each eating the portion of the food they like. It’s not a parasitic relationship, but a partnership to be emulated.

I closed the book of nursery rhymes and glanced at the peaceful cherubic face of my little one. If only life were always like that. I sighed. Raising him would be easier with a partner around.

Having a baby did not glue his daddy and I back together. It gave us more things to argue about. Finally, like all parasites, he’d sucked so much of the life from me, I had to cut him off from me or I would die.

We were all suffering. As my life dwindled in despair, my child didn’t have a mother to care for him, and my parasitic husband found feeding on me unsatisfying. It may have seemed selfish to gather my pride and get out, but I realized I had to do it, for us.