Divorce and Sorry

It is funny to see the reaction of the people when you annouce to them that your marital status is divorced. A person I met last week went silent for a full one minute and then came up with "I am sorry". Excuse me, I am not dead; I am alive. And, there is nothing for you to be sorry about! Life happens and one goes on.
What was even funnier was previous to this I had to fill out a form to become a member of an organisation where they had asked us to fill Marital Status and Number of Childern columns in addition to the rest of the usual stuff. Since the Marital Status had options only for Single and Married, I selected Single and in Number of Childern, I filled in 1 as I have one daughter. I could literally see the jaw of the person dropping when he went over the form. He went like "Madam, you are single and you have filled in, umm ah ho, children as ...". Then I had to tell him that my status is divorced. Then, he kind of got a relieved look on his face that oh, thank god, she is not a criminal! Otherwise, i might have had to reject her membership!
In India, of course, divorce in small towns is still a stigma and something that is to be whispered about. Hope things change soon!