June Weddings

April showers bring May flowers,
but in June the tune that's often heard
(though you may think this quite absurd)
is "Here Comes the Bride." One-third
of weddings will unite those who have
wed before, such optimism shown that
this time, they will get it right. They might.
The odds are in their favor. Despite
the often quoted 50-50 chances, or that "half
of all the marriages will end," the latest numbers
now contend it's more like 60-40 with the
weddings out ahead, and I would bet you that
the ones who stay together, more than likely
play and pray and bed together, too.
Some make it work despite the lack of one
or two or all of those, despite the other
challenges that life presents. I wonder, though,
what fraction of those married are as much in love
as when they started, for in my opinion, if
they aren't, perhaps they never were, not both.
And one can only keep it going for so long.
One often hears it said, "Relationships take work!"
but I've observed a few, a very few, that seem
to contradict, who never quarrel, laugh together
every day, respect and touch each other constantly.
That is the model hoped for all the Junes, both
brides and grooms, who take their vows this month.



(c) Ellen Gillette, 2014