I will Love You for at Least 7 Years
Of all the promises we make to each other: "I'll start exercising" or "I'll quit smoking" or the ever-popular "I'll send you a check today," none is as short-lived as "I will Love You Forever." Some mayflies endure longer than that sentiment.
As some of you may know, I own a few businesses that buy gold and other jewelry from the public. If I had a nickel for every wedding band and engagement ring that I bought back after a divorce or broken engagement, well, I would have a lot of nickels. What a terrible thing must have happened when a young couple sell wedding bands on July 20, 2008 where the inside is engraved, "Love Forever, July 18 2008". For every ten engagement rings that we sell, there's one that we buy back. From my experience the ring is not always brought back to the store from whence it was purchased. I estimate that canceled weddings could be as high as one in five. In many cases the loss they take in selling the ring back is the least of the problem; the caterer, wedding dress, the band, the wedding site, most will keep their deposit although I have heard of some giving it back.
And yes, the woman must return the ring to the man, no matter who broke off the engagement. Some women will put the ring in a vise and twist it beyond repair before giving it back to their one-time fiancé; the violence of the attack attests to the truth of the adage, "Hell hath no fury like a woman scorned."
There are over 2.3 million weddings a year and so there could be as many as 400,000 or 500,000 failed weddings annually. I know that some of the cold feet has to be due to worries that one will not be able to stand being with one person forever. Forever, for those of you unfamiliar with the concept, is a really long time. For some, it's longer than a lifetime.
I think that fewer weddings would be canceled if instead of having to promise to be with one person forever we promise to love for at least seven years. Nothing is as scary as signing a contract for forever. Perhaps in this manner, there would be more weddings since the prospect of a never-ending sentence is removed.
I know your first reaction is that if a couple do not promise to love, honor, etc. forever, there will be more divorces. What, there are no divorces in America now? Has the promise to love forever kept a million people from divorcing every year in America? Even in Muslim countries, where the man tells his wife that she will love him forever or else, the divorce rate is between 10% and 15%.
Certainly there are fewer escape attempts from low security prisons. Very few people escape from a seven year sentence, but given the chance almost every lifer would give it a go.
Disclaimer: I have been happily shackled to the most adoring, beautiful, loving woman for over 33 years, 1 month and 15 days or to be accurate 12,099 days. We renew our vows every day.
