Wife me up! More than just a partner

My latest on Catholicmom.com

Language evolves and changes. There is a recording of a college professor reciting Beowulf in the original old English. If you didn’t know the story, it would be hard to pick it up from the words he was reciting! It sounded like a completely different language and nothing like the English we are so used to today. It’s not ju st that the pronunciations have changed, but the actual meanings of the words are different as well. Of course, some words have disappeared altogether, while thousands of others have come into use.  

In recent years, many words relating to being feminine and female have started to change or be outright banned. It’s no longer acceptable in many places to use words like woman, mother, she/her, or breast-feeding. However, what bothers me the most is losing the word “wife.” It is being replaced by “partner.”  

I recently complained about that on an Instagram reel. I was promptly told that only boomers still use words like husband and wife. They said not even marriage is used anymore. I guess ageism is culturally accepted.  

This year my husband, Pete, will have been married to me for 44 years. He has also had a business partner for 28 years. While I appreciate Pete’s partner, Jack, my role as wife is more all-encompassing. The word “partner” cannot describe it fully.

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