I am struck by reading some of these posts that people just don't understand marraige because they don't understand or are afraid of commitment. They either underestimate what real commitment means, or they overestimate or overimagine the sacrifice that it takes to be committed in a relationship.
It's funny because alot of those same people understand the power and advantages of committment in a business setting or in committing their efforts to a sports team. All the time you hear coaches talking about committment to their players, because mutually committed players bring out excellence in themselves, their teammates, the team as a whole and in whatever endeavors the team takes on in challenges that it faces.
It is the same when two mutually committed partners go thru life....it brings out the best in each other individually, the best in themselves as a pair, their family, their children and in the challenges, endeavors, and trials that the family might face.
I'm sure someone can/will offer the sophomoric observation that you don't need 'marraige' to be committed....but then again, if you are really committed (really) you should have no problem with a public acknowledgment of the status.
One thing is for sure, marraige is probably not the place for a narcissitic man/woman child. Check your selfishness and ego at the door.
Last week, one of the girls at the office was explaining that her 20 something son and his live-in girlfriend decided to have a baby, and that she was going to be a grandma!(both have worked inconsistently and live with/off grandma-to be) After congratulations were offered all around(somewhat disingenuously), someone asked if they planned to get married. "Nope." was grandma-to be's response..."They can't
afford it."

laugh:
Are we ****ed as a country or what?