Love Should Be Unconditional; Partnership Should Not
“Happily ever after” is a job, but the benefits are absolutely awesome.
There is a very excellent reason why most “romance” novels and movies END with a marriage instead of beginning with one; while the process of courtship and falling in love can often feel magical, matrimony itself most often does not. Being married is not about fun dates and romantic gestures and hot sex (although they can all still be in the mix!); marriage is a partnership, complete with bills, taxes and property management. Marriage, or any kind of committed partnership, is a job.
I know, bummer. Dating versus marriage is like the difference between being a kid and being an adult; when you’re a kid, life is mostly bubbles, ice cream, and fantasy, and when you are an adult it’s more housing bubbles, middle-aged spread and fantasizing about getting enough sleep. But you get to drive (fun!) and you don’t have to justify your purchases to your parents anymore (hopefully), so there are some perks.
Truthfully, I think the whole wedding racket (my opinion) is a scam designed to trick us into believing on some level that marriage is a big dress-up party with horse-drawn carriages and champagne toasts. But traditional marriage, which has only been…
