This is the story of a “hero” who lets his wife suffer.

I find this article so fascinating because it shows the danger of investing in a man who is impractical. One of the characteristics of a provider is having foresight, being able to look ahead and sacrificing himself for his FAMILY.

https://www.washingtonpost.com/nation/2020/04/18/new-york-coronavirus-volunteers/

TLDR Man leaves wife and 2 year old in Texas to go volunteer as a nurse in NYC.

What’s wrong with that?

He wasn’t asked to go - he went searching for an opportunity to help out in NY specifically. While there, he admits to not following hygiene protocols faithfully and making mistakes that could cause him to catch the virus in his daily work. His wife is worried sick.

The wife is a medical doctor - she herself was in the danger zone of essential workers. But her husband decides to put himself in danger too so both of them have the likelihood of being exposed.

Quote: “ He’d flip on the news and see a worsening crisis in the nation’s biggest city, and what did it say about him if people were dying and he’d spent his morning at the driving range?

They’d argued lately, and Gina wasn’t even sure why. He snapped at her when she reminded him yet again that it was March and their Christmas tree was still up. He wanted to be left alone, to sit on his couch and watch TV, to let his mind wander.”

When they met, he was a nurse at the same hospital. Reading between the lines, I’m getting the vibe that he wanted to prove he could compete with her so he decided to change careers and go to law school to become a personal injury lawyer. The article doesn’t say, but I’d bet good money that she either paid for that JD or he is in significant debt right now (which means they both are in debt). He’s a practicing lawyer, but coronavirus happens. He can’t bear to just be sitting back doing nothing (you’ll notice the article even mentions that he doesn’t do housework) do he decides to go back to nursing again.

Quote: “ He seemed so casual about what he was heading into, so fearless. If anything, that’s what frightened Gina. Jim isn’t great about washing his hands during flu season and doesn’t often use the hand sanitizer next to their front door. And Jim, who isn’t exactly diligent about household chores, is suddenly going to be careful in the hottest hot zone of a global pandemic?”

This is a cautionary tale about why you shouldn’t marry or reproduce with men who are ‘dreamers’ regardless of what race they are (she’s black, he is white). Choose a husband that is practical and committed to making his family happy. They’ve been married for four years, she has a high stress job and a two year old. Instead of thinking of ways to help his family right now, he does something that -while on its own might seem thoughtful- is incredibly disadvantageous to his wife and kid.