While I don’t have any doubts about the prospect of getting married, there have been a few who have asked me this question. They wonder why two people in their final chapter of life on this planet would give up a portion of their freedom and commit to a relationship with some form of permanence. The other night, a family member asked the question, ” Why are you getting married?” My response was quick and to the point. “Marilyn is pregnant!” After a few good ol’ belly laughs, We said, ” We are old fashioned. We believe that the normal progression of a relationship should be the commitment of giving oneself to their partner “till death do you part.” To NOT make this commitment is disrespectful, in my opinion. You can rationalize it any way you want, but living together without marriage is like saying, yes, I love you, but I really don’t want to commit to being with you for the rest of my life. It also says something about previous relationships. In our cases, we both had successful and by-in-large happy marriages, why would we not want to have that same feeling again? If a person thinks we are just too old, they are the one with the problem. Life is what you make it. We choose to make it happy; in a relationship based on love, friendship, commitment, and honest respect. With that being said, on July 2nd, Marilyn and I will be tying the proverbial knot in a small, casual church wedding.

This could be the end of this post, but if you know me, you know that I like to add a bit of my philosophy to the mix.

I believe we are multi-dimensional beings. We exist as a trilogy of body, mind and spirit. The body is the animal aspect. The mind is that thinking part with which we can imagine. The last and most important is the spirit. We are a spirit; we have a body controlled by our mind. I believe that the most important part of a marriage is that spiritual commitment to another soul/spirit. Yes, I really WANT to get married and look forward to many wonderful years together. Call us crazy, but I love you, Marilyn Louise Schaffner Curtin Gardner, and want to spend what is left of my life with you.