Prenuptial Agreements-do you have one?

This week's writing prompts are as follows:

1.) Prenuptial Agreement…Yay or Nay? Explain.
2.) You’re not always right…no you’re not…no you’re not…no you’re not….tell us about a time you were wrong.
3.) Describe the last thing that made you laugh really hard.
4.) A letter to your future teen.
5.) Valentine’s Day is coming…share a favorite Valentine’s tradition.

I'm looking over the prompts now and the last thing that made me laugh really hard was a clip from an episode of The Colbert Report, that I just wrote about last night.  SO...I believe I will choose a different prompt.


I don't have any favorite Valentine's day traditions.  I'm always right, so that one is out.  That leaves #1 or #4.


I tried to write a letter to my children, and it just wasn't flowing.  I think it scares me too much to think about them becoming teenagers and pulling away from me.  They won't need me...or at least, they won't think they do.  And I don't want to face that day.


So #1 it is.  Prenuptial Agreements...Yay or Nay?


NAY.


We have no values anymore.  We do not understand what a vow really is.  Marriage isn't sacred.  Marriage is just something you do because it feels right.  Or because everyone expects it.  Our culture's display of marriage is skewed.


If you need a prenuptial agreement, you are essentially saying "I know that this won't last, so when we finally call it quits, I want what's rightfully mine." Hollywood is notorious for that.  I've never known anyone personally that has had a prenuptial agreement, but I know they exist in abundance.  And they actually make me mad.


Because why would you go through the entire marriage process, with the intention of it failing? If we understood what a vow really meant (WHICH IS WHAT YOU EXCHANGE IN A WEDDING CEREMONY!!!), we would understand that you stay together.  Through the good and the bad.  You find a way to work it out.  You don't just give up and run away at the first sign of trouble.


If you feel that you need a prenuptial agreement, because you're not sure if "this thing will last", don't get married.  No wonder so many people are afraid of marriage.  Because so many fail.  But they don't fail because people fight over money.  They don't fail because someone is unfaithful.  They don't fail because "we just fell out of love".  


LOVE IS A CHOICE.  Marriages fail because people give up.  They quit trying.  They quit choosing to love.  At the first sign of trouble, they try to get out because they think it is the easy route.  But if you talk to anyone who has ever been through a divorce, especially those with children, they will tell you that it isn't easy!


My husband and I will be together until one of us dies-and we all know it will be me, because he promised he wouldn't die.  There are days that I feel utterly despondent and like my marriage is barely hanging on by a thread.  And when I want to leave, when I want to give up, THAT is when I am reminded that we made a VOW.  And before we ever got married, we agreed that divorce would NEVER be in our vocabulary.  


And maybe we were naive back then...but I'll tell you what.  We've put each other through hell over the last 12 years.  I have wanted to leave.  I have wanted to run away.  I have wanted to just quit.  I can guarantee, even if he won't admit it, that Kris has wanted to give up too at times.  We have hurt each other.  We have inflicted pain.  We have had our share of marital problems.  But in the back of our minds, we have remembered that promise we made when we were full of young love and hope, and knew nothing of life.  Divorce was not going to be an option.  And so we HAVE to work it out.  When there is tension, there is always hope, because I know that Kris is by my side, no matter what.


But let's get back to the topic at hand, about prenuptial agreements.  If more people had more respect for marriage, they wouldn't be necessary.  All they are is a way out.  An escape clause.  A place to run when things get tough.  It's all about money and property and getting what one deserves.  It's selfish, and love is anything BUT selfish.  Save yourselves the trouble.  Just divide up the  money and property first, and part ways.  Before you ever get married.


I know that my view is very one-sided.  I know that some people may disagree.  But I believe that marriage is sacred and real love is a choice, and selfless.  Prenuptial agreements are anything but selfless.