What that “I DO” does...

6, 200 …    the average salary I receive while working as a staff nurse (yes, dears, in PESOS).

           ….   the average number of weddings that take place in a day (in the U.S. alone).

50%    ....   the average percentage of my salary that’s spent on food, fare and other necessities.

           ….   the average percentage of first marriages that end in nasty divorce proceedings (so much for “first love never dies”)

 

1 year  …   the average time it takes for a couple to plan a lavish wedding.

           …   the average time it takes to complete divorce proceedings.

 

$20, 000… the  average cost of an entire wedding

$30, 000… the average cost paid by state and federal governments for bankruptcies, public housing and food stamps for each divorce case filed.  

 

Bottom line, I am no anti-marriage freak. I love looking at wedding videos and sometimes writing for them. I love butterflies, bubbles and confetti showers. I love Chantilly lace and velvet gloves with pearl heirloom earrings and diamond rings. I love I-do’s in a blooming garden and that magnificent sunset kiss.

But, wouldn’t it be nice to spend dollars upon dollars of time, patience and understanding in a successful marriage once the glass-tinkling has stopped and the guests have all gone? 

Some things are simply priceless.

 

POST SCRIPT: That's my mom and my dad on that jaundiced old photo. And no, they did not spend 20, 000 dollars for that 1984 wedding. My mom made her own gown and their rings were 10 karat gold pieces that look almost grey and green by now. Amazingly they still live under one roof and they dinner date once in a while...