I had freshly turned 23 when I got married. It doesn’t seem that young to me, although we live in a time when people are getting married closer to 30.
I don’t feel like I need to defend my decision to get married at that age.
Meant To Be Married
I just knew Luke and I were meant to be together, despite my lack of life experience.
I thought you just fell in love with someone, married them, had babies and went through life together. What I didn’t realize is that the “went through life together” part is where everything happens.
When you marry, you don’t completely know what you’ve gotten yourself into. No matter how long you’ve been with your spouse beforehand, because life happens unpredictably. You know there will be ups and downs, but you are blind to what those will be.
The Ups and Downs
When my husband married me, he didn’t know he was signing up for a wife who throws fatigue-induced tantrums because our nearly-one-year-old son still doesn’t sleep through the night! He didn’t know his wife would be the pallbearer at my grandfather’s funeral. He didn’t know he’d have to love me through piles of laundry and dishes and coupons clipped with good intentions but no follow-through.
Who would have known that less than six years into our marriage, we’d have two kids, a house, Luke in school and caring for our children while I work full-time?
You know you’re in it “for better or for worse” when you get married. But it’s interesting to see what those times are once you actually are married. No one predicts comforting their spouse through their parents’ divorce, the loss of a child or a failed business venture. Who can anticipate the joy of finding out you’re expecting a baby, a new job or a fun family vacation?
We sign up for rare romantic nights out, house payments and unexpected expenses, all in the name of love.
Make no mistake, my marriage has been a happy one, despite all the unforeseen obligations. There’s no one I’d rather sign up with for those obligations. If I could go back and tell that naïve 23-year-old self anything, it’d be: “Sign right there on the dotted line, and never look back.”
