Teen Weddings

I'm really surprised at how T.V. networks have begun to glorify teen weddings.  I think it started with the gypsies who marry their daughters off at 16 or 17 into a life of housework and baby raising.  Yesterday I watched a couple of Canadian teen marriages on T.V. and felt nothing but pity for those kids because they have no idea what they've gotten themselves into.


I was 17 and completely in love when I got married.  I knew I wasn't ready but it all seemed so romantic to be legally connected to the boy (he was 20) I was so in love with.  It wasn't romantic but it was stifling.  While my contemporaries were out having fun and getting a good education, I was home with babies while my poor husband worked himself to the bone trying to provide for us.  We were deeply in love but we weren't mature enough to handle the tough times we had to go through. That is why no-one should marry until they're 30!


My husband and I weathered the storms and raised 3 wonderful little girls.  Money was always an issue because there never was enough to pay the bills let alone go out and have fun on a Saturday night.  You might think this wasn't very important but it was to me.  When we finally bought a house, money was even tighter but I knew this was a major investment in our lives and had matured enough to be able to put up with very little social life.


As I watched those teenage weddings yesterday and saw their smiling, immature and head in the clouds faces, it was sad to imagine how quickly the smiles would fade when reality set in.  What you want when you're 17 is not what you need when you're 27 or 37 and these kids will find that out sooner or later. I wondered if they don't see marriage as the life commitment that it should be but see a divorce in the future as a normal possibility.  This wouldn't matter too much if there were no children involved but, when they are, divorce isn't so easy for anyone.


I guess I'm a romantic, but I look upon marriage as a sacred commitment.  It shouldn't be taken lightly or at too young an age because you need those life experiences to grow on and to aid you in choosing a partner you can happily grow old with.  There are obviously many teenage marriages that did succeed but they'd be a minority.  Marriage is a difficult adjustment for an adult to make but immaturity can make it impossible.  


Maybe losing personal freedom in my youth makes me more appreciative of the freedom I now have in my old age.  It's something I'll treasure and enjoy to the fullest every day I'm granted.


The teens and twenties should be saved for learning about life and not settling down.  We used to call it "sowing wild oats" and that's not a bad thing.  It's not wise to forfeit your youthful freedom before you've reached maturity because it's likely something you will regret.  Sad, but true.