July 31, 2010 is that day that supposedly changed my life forever: I got married at the ripe young age of twenty-two. My now-husband, who is getting his masters in Latin and is a few years older than me, proposed before I even turned 21.
In the year and a half we were engaged, I was met mostly with support because anyone who knows us knows that we are not idiots and knew exactly what we were doing. However, we did encounter our fair share of "haters."
One particular instance of this was a visit I took to the university health center shortly after we got engaged. Miserable and pretty certain I had strep throat, I waited way longer than I had the patience for in an exam room covered in literature about how binge drinking and casual sex are detrimental to your health (no shit) and when the doctor finally came in we had an exchange that went something like this:
Me: I think I might have strep throat.
Judge-y Doctor: Okay. Who's the band on your t-shirt?
Me: Oh, my fiancee's actually.
J.D.: Fiancee? How old are you? Don't you know what the divorce rates are for young people getting married?
Me: Um...my throat hurts.
Unfortunately, this was not the last less-than-enthusiastic exchange I had with someone about my choice to get married young. I tend to look like I am not old enough to be out of high school, let alone someone's old lady, so there were many unspoken assumptions by people I didn't know that I was some kind of freak child bride or had gotten knocked up.
But on July 31st I still made it down that isle, and my husband, Mark, and I are learning the trials and tribulations of being married when the odds seem to be against you. In a few days, we will be at the two month mark, and as I keep telling people who ask, it has been a solid two months. I don't really know what would go terribly wrong in the span of two month, but people keep asking so I am sure someone out there hasn't made it this far.
I am not really sure how to end this little preface into my life, so I will just do the absolutely cliche move and leave it with a quote:
"I love being married. It's so great to find that one special person you want to annoy for the rest of your life"-Rita Rudner.
Cheers!
