The Man Cave: My Marriage Answer

Today I was asked if I believe in marriage. My knee-jerk response was "of course", but the questioner wanted a better defense of my position. I told him I would have to give it some thought.

I thought.

Here is my answer:

I've been around the sun 44 times. I've been married to my high school sweet heart for 24 of those trips. Together we've raised two children, beaten cancer, suffered poverty, and enjoyed prosperity. We have struggled through deep canyons, and stood at the tops of mountains together, literally and figuratively. There have been days when the only thing that kept me moving forward was the knowledge that there was a woman waiting at home who believed the sun, moon, and stars revolved around me.

She is my greatest ally and confidant...and at times my fiercest and most cunning rival. She knows how to find and exploit my every weakness, but more often she is holding me on her shoulders. Everything I have been or ever will be, everything I have done or ever will do, has greater depth and poignancy because I shared it with her.

Marriage has been the best part of my life. Did we need a piece of paper to have this relationship together? Maybe not. But I don't know what word other than "marriage" one would use to define it. We are yoked together inextricably, in a way that transcends pedestrian description. We aren't "friends" or "mates" or "partners" or "lovers". We are married.

Yes, I believe in marriage.