Manželské etudy: Nová generace

Too many unanswered questions, and too many mere suggestions of reality. As it stands, we do not have enough information to make an assessment. The news of the marriage only scratches the surface and I think that is the biggest shame. A young family comes from the city to the countryside, with no certainty anywhere to be found. Soon they have two children, but they just have to have a big house before renovation, a huge garden, countless animals... In the end, they just bitterly say that things didn't work out. I was most disturbed by Mirka's declaration of conservatism, that she was against alternate care and two dads... Apparently, only people like her have the right to fail. (2019.04.05)

Irena and Petr have exemplary cohabitation of two singles next to each other. There are really only 24 hours in a day and they want to be married and have steady jobs, side jobs, and hobbies. They live out their goals, enjoying breakfast together, but tend to break up at the first setback. I'd like to spend another year with them. (2019.12.15)

Alena and Bernard don't really want anything big. They have two kids and a mortgage, and the husband earns enough to provide for all their needs. Every now and then we meet their relatives. The family lives an orderly life on the outskirts of Prague, they have no interests and perhaps no emotions... Everything is so ordinary that the birth scene seems almost out of place. And the mega Santa Claus where little kids have hysterical fits? Was that necessary? Is there really nothing going on in these people’s lives? (2019.12.15)

Petra and Viktor represent quite an interesting example of people who get by. On the other hand, Viktor is bothered by his low salary, but of course, the solution is not to deal with anything at the expense of comfort. As a high school teacher, Petra was unable to read even the most basic maternity manuals during her pregnancy and was surprised by postpartum depression. That's what I call critical thinking and working well with information. As long as they get by with their Czenglish, the Moravian kids won't care anyway. As a person, Petra may be a saint, but she hasn't really done a good job of promoting her image as a teacher. (2019.12.15)

The story of Zuzana and Lukáš could have been a really interesting report on our times, but it would have needed to be at least twice the length. While Lukáš had all the testimonies in the first half, Zuzana spoke only after the loss. This isn’t good, because it easily leads to short-sighted judgments and evaluations. We can only assume, for example, that Zuzana was not ready (or even interested in) for the role of the mother of three children, which in practice could mean ten years at home. If Lukáš was aware of his priorities, his success at work, and his wife's personal failure, how are we to view his retroactive solution that next time he will seek a woman who is exclusively passive? The most interesting part of all this is a small detail that seemingly hasn't been given much attention, namely the classic problem that Zuzana's original employer refused to hire her back on a part-time basis shortly after she gave birth. A smart employer knows that a quality employee is not just someone who works twelve hours a day no matter what. (2019.12.15)