Smile, You're Getting Married By Alex Tandy

My parents divorced when I was 11 or 12. No, I can’t remember the exact age, but that hardly matters. Seven, 11, 15 or 20, the end result is all the same – a contract that signifies love is broken, sometimes shattered. This marriage business, I call it a business because I’m not sure if it is anything beyond that: a piece of paper, a big party, maybe with balloons and a bunch of pictures.

Hey, smile; it’s your wedding.

I thought I had a unique story – the story of a broken home, where I actually wasn’t all alone. My brother was there during the day, my father at night, my mom far away in Texas and later Ecuador. I can’t remember the last time I saw her. I remember the last time I spoke to her: It was by phone in November of 2008.

Yes, the details are unique; it’s my story to tell, but I share the same premise with many other Americans. Are you familiar with this statistic? “Roughly half of marriages in the United States end in divorce, every year.” Or maybe you’ve heard this one: “More than half of marriages in the United States end in divorce, every year.”

Sad, scary but, as far as I have found, true. Forty percent or fifty percent, it’s still more than 30 or 20. Marriage must be “special.”

So, what’s it going to take me to get to the altar? Undying love.

via sweetastandy

Smile, You're Getting Married By Alex Tandy