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[quote=Anonymous]Your son and DIL could absolutely be our friends, except the ages don't work. He works, makes good money, she mostly stays home even though they don't have kids, but occasionally takes a part-time job.

And there's a reason for all of that. He has a mental illness that wasn't diagnosed into his 20s, and his wife was an enormous source of encouragement and support for him to get evaluated and then get the treatment he needed to be successful. Part of what he needs to be successful at work, though, is to minimize his other stresses and distractions, so having someone running their home/personal life full-time so that he can forget about it has been a big part both of his professional success and his broader ability to manage his illness. If she weren't there supporting him at home, he probably wouldn't be able to manage it all and his life would still be a mess.

She, on the other hand, has type 1 diabetes, which is something she's pretty private about, so not many people know about it, and if they do, they don't know the extent to which it impacts her health. Because of how the condition has progressed with nerve issues and such, her doctor has recommended that she not work if possible to allow her to take the rest she needs and not overexert herself in a way that will hasten the progression of her complications. They don't have children because it would be too dangerous for her to carry a child herself, and the state of her health would make it all but impossible for them to be approved for adoption. Plus, raising kids would be the same kind of strain as working, and they're afraid that even if they have a child through another means (e.g., surrogacy), the long-term physical toll of child rearing would result in an early death for her.

And those part-time jobs she takes? Those are when her husband goes through periods where he's struggling with his mental health and has needed to take an unpaid leave of absence, so she gets a part-time job (which is pretty much all she can get, given her health and her spotty employment history) to help tide them over. It takes a big toll on her, but she does it anyway to support him and allow him to get the help he needs.

They are an incredibly strong and loving couple, and it breaks my heart to think they might have people like OP in their lives who question either of their character out of ignorance.[/quote]

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