Fairy Tale Endings

My family reunion was today.  When most people think of the phrase, "family reunion," they cringe.  Words like, "fighting," "gossiping," and "judging" come to mind.  But this was actually quite refreshing.  I got to see my new 2-month old cousin, my aunts and grandmother, and even my 87-year-old great grandmother who's still got quite the kick left in her.

And as I'm looking at the couples, I'm caught in a slight amusement at the musings of their relationships.  One of my aunts has been married almost longer than she's been single in her life and I couldn't help but wonder why...

What is it that makes that relationship, that marriage, so successful that they would do nothing more than want to be with each other?

"Maybe you're not the kind of girl to fall head-over-heels in love.  Maybe you're the kind who should marry her best friend."

We're taught to find true love, like in the fairy tales, like it's a needle in a haystack we have to sort through at some point before the end of our lives or we'll spend an eternity in a 2 bedroom, 2 story house with 15 cats all named, Bob, and those noisy little bratty neighbor kids that rake their sticks up and down your fence at night right when you're trying to go to bed 'cause you're old and can't stay awake past 3pm.  We're told about these amazing stories of love at first sight and people knowing the moment they saw each other they would live happily ever after.  But have you ever seen that happen?

How many times have you heard, "Don't ever get married!  Or if you do, be prepared for the ball and chain!" Marriages don't have to be like that.  People get married for all those wrong reasons and even though you would think we'd know how to pick the perfect one by now, we don't.  And with the percentage of Americans who end up divorced, I now have the rest of my life to figure out if all my decisions were the right ones or the wrong ones.
Man, they better be the right ones.... Because to be quite honest, I don't want to waste my time on someone who's not going to be the right one for me.

But whoever I pick, and whomever picks me, better be ready - 'cause I don't do well with spiders.

"I love that you get cold when it's 71 degrees out. I love that it takes you an hour and a half to order a sandwich. I love that you get a little crinkle above your nose when you're looking at me like I'm nuts. I love that after I spend the day with you, I can still smell your perfume on my clothes. And I love that you are the last person I want to talk to before I go to sleep at night. And it's not because I'm lonely, and it's not because it's New Year's Eve. I came here tonight because when you realize you want to spend the rest of your life with somebody, you want the rest of your life to start as soon as possible."