Microwave husband
A couple of days ago I ran into a good friend of mine. She was quite jovial as usual but there was something to her expression that was not right. I told her she didn't look well and that I was concerned about her. She avoided my questioning and went on to say she had had a long day at work and no more. After a minute of hustling I talked her into a cup of coffee to keep on digging into her life and satisfy my feline curiosity.
She hadn't taken a sip of her tea nor had I tasted a bit of my coffee when out of her mouth popped out the words that have ever since brought me out of my sleep. "I need a husband" she said. For a second I thought it was a glitch in my understanding or that she had wrongly structured the sentence. To my dismay, I'd heard right.
My friend, a mere twenty-two years of age was being pressed day and night by her parents to do what a girl of her age was "supposed to do" to avoid losing face back in her hometown a good 300 miles away deep in the country. She truly felt it was her unavoidable duty in life to please her parents in every possible way. This plead for a prompt wedding, regardless of feelings or responsibilities of her own, in addition to a "life-threatening" heart condition of her father - a man whom on a daily basis imbibes tremendous amounts of liquor and smokes uncountable cigarettes - had turned her into some sort of monster on the prowl.
Whatever the man looks like, his profession, his feelings, his attitudes and manners were of no concern in this matter. All she needed was a "husband". A "microwave husband" as I sarcastically termed him.
"What about love?" I said as my face contorted at the thought of her marrying a man she felt nothing for. She said love was of no importance and that it was culturally acceptable to get married for the simple reason of not being looked down upon by the rest of society.
Doing something to please others, regardless of the personal consequences is I feel unacceptable. In the particular case of marriage one can not condone to a life of suffering and dissatisfaction for the sake of hearsay. We, both men and women should be free to choose our own life and destinies as long as we don't meddle with those of others in the process. Who we marry is a choice of uttermost importance thus is a choice which cannot be hurried.
Our parents had their time and did what they thought was right for themselves and for their children. Now is our time and our life is for us, and no one else to choose. Our parents have lived much longer than we have thus their experience must be taken into consideration at every step we take in life. Considering though does not necessarily mean obeying. The world we live in changes rapidly and with it society and its customs. We must go with the flow that makes our life more fulfilling both emotionally and professionally, free from the reins of a sometimes square-headed society.
The person we chose to be our husband or wife is the same whose face we'll see every morning when we open our eyes and the same face we'll see when we shut our eyes closed before we fall into a deep slumber filled with all sorts of beautiful dreams. Wouldn't it just be nice then that our dreams were made of our every day memories rather than of those beautiful things we know we'll never experience because we weren't given a choice in the first place?
Think before you marry a complete stranger.
