my marriage experience...

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I got married once (shotgun) a long, long time ago (19 yrs or so), just four years out of high school and already a mother, reluctantly giving up my name to become wife. The marriage lasted eleven months. (Can't say for certain, but I think the Catholic ceremony took longer than that; at least that's how it felt). And my wedding video could have made us a small fortune on Funniest Home Videos...as the bride and groom (me and "what's his face") we're literally arguing between guest speeches and during the nuptials. And I yawning with mouth gaping open, gasping for air, unable to breath while on my knees, tears rolling down my cheeks, and not at all because I was over joyed. I truly thought my wedding would end up a funeral if I had to kneel for much longer. My son (then 4 yrs old) was completely confused. Uncertain what was going on, he mistook the rather long and creepy ceremony as some sort of sacrificial ritual as he'd seen in the movies. He sat beside my mother-in-law in brooding silence, growing increasingly mortified as his imagination ran with him. When I approached to offer my "new mother" the ceremonial rose my son's face mirrored his horror; and I unable to step aside to bring comfort. And when I turned to walk away and back to take my place at the alter, my son grabbed my arm with a grip straight from hell and refusing to let go, as he let out a scream that still to this day chills me to the bone. Poor kid, stretched like melted mozzarella between the clutches of Gramma and his hell grip on me. "No, Mommy, No...don't go!" Lord knows I could have saved my parents two years of loan payments had I just known to listen to him. Sometimes the greatest wisdom comes from the mouths of babes.