An Essay for the Day

I'm going to be slogging my way through gold lame' shirts again today; maybe I need to lower my standards in order to finish up? Try as I might, I can't seem to sew this stuff quick.

So, in honor of St. Valentine's Day, I thought I'd share a little...randomness. I have no idea when I wrote this or what inspired it, but it was sitting in my 'Writing' folder and seems somewhat appropriate for the day.

Just some 'Observations on Marriage'

Some people expect marriage to be an interstate highway.

The routes are wide and well paved; blasting crews and earth moving equipment have already passed through to make hills and valleys a little more uniform; curves are gentle and well-engineered, so as to not slow down the traffic flow. Obstacles such as railroad crossings or secondary roads are bypassed with bridges and do not impede progress. Ramps and acceleration and deceleration lanes make moving on…and off…easy. Travel on such a highway is ideally eventless, because the goal is reaching the destination.

But marriage is more like a two-lane state road.

It meanders through the countryside, up hills and down into valleys. It stops for trains, crawls for farm equipment, and slows for towns, cities and school zones. In some parts of the country, the state road hairpins its way through mountainous terrain with little more than a guardrail between the travelers and disaster. It wraps around town squares, counter-clockwise, and crosses one-lane bridges. Traveling by state highways, one expects slower progress, delays, and even detours for closed roads or missing bridges. It is necessary to commit to the journey and deal with the problems. As a reward, the travelers find themselves much more involved with the terrain and the location through which they are traveling. They will encounter people and places bypassed by the interstates, and they understand that the goal is to have enjoyed the journey when the destination is reached.

Happy Valentine's Day everyone!