Marriage is a blessing that is given to us to share. Even though you may feel someone is your soul mate, you may not be theirs. That is something you have to contend with and they may have to as well. My soul mate was my high school boyfriend. Don't have a clue where he is today but he was the soul mate.
As for marriage today, I am older and know what to expect. I have been married a couple of times and look back into the past and choose the best of the best and take away the worst and compile that into what I want. However, there has to be a bit of an allowance for mistakes. There is no sense in arguement. Working things out is the way it should be. We have the previlage to walk this soil at this time and should make the best of it. Why be unhappy? I have been alone for 6 years since my divorce, raised three daughters alone (2 in college and one going on intern to Washington DC this coming summer) and am ready to try again. I am dating an absolutely wonderful man. He is JW and I am not. We basically agree on everything except religion. We are working on that. I am afraid of religion because of past husband. You know the kind - the controlling "you will be submissive", "you will not carry money, I will pay everything" .... that kind of jerk, CHRISTIAN. My current boyfriend was married for 19 1/2 years to a horrible woman - to hear him talk about it. I did meet her once and she was psycho.
Between the two of us, we have eight children and three grandchildren. They are precious to us. This man has taught me patience, how to love again, how to be close to someone, several different traits. I have tought him how to trust, love, open up and talk and several different things. We are both trusting. We both have jobs that we have to travel with. He encounters many women with his job and I have not one doubt in my mind that he is faithful to me and he is my boyfriend - not my husband. And I would never even consider being with another man. I meet several men with my job. I have dinner meetings with these salesmen and such and he doesn't have to worry. He holds my heart and I hold his. I was once told that "to be jealous is to not trust". I believe this completely.
But the original question - Why bother? Because it is fulfilling. It is special. When he comes over and spends time with me, it is nice to be held, it is nice to see a movie with his head in my lap. It is nice for him to run his fingers through my hair when I don't feel good. It is nice to rub his chest with Vicks when he doesn't feel well or to give him an aspirin. It's nice to watch "Finding Nemo" so that he will understand it so he can talk intelligently about it with his granddaughter. Even though I get these things occassionally due to work schedules, I would love to have the everyday redundency of it. The laundry, dinner, dishes, cleaning, picking up clothes off of the floor, bad habits and all, because in the end the good outweighs the bad. You get to share secrets, your lives and your love with someone special.
