Marriage.
One word that can have an amazing effect on people.
For some it’s sheer delight … the belief that destiny will be fulfilled.
For others it’s sheer terror … the feeling that life is about to be constrained and torturous.
Being hyper-generalising for a moment, the former view feels the domain of young women whereas the latter is the young male perspective.
Hey, I did say I was being generalising so don’t hold me to it.
Carrying on with the cliche-view for a moment, these viewpoints could be because apart from wanting to have that ‘princess’ moment, women have an underlying fear of being ‘left on the shelf’ whereas for men, it’s the fear of ‘missing out on opportunities’ with that gorgeous filmstar that you just happen to bump into and feel an immediate and overwhelming chemistry with.
Of course it’s all bollocks, another example of how our emotions rule us against logic and reason which is why I love a sign a NYC jeweller has put in their male bathroom.
Whether someone reads it or not is immaterial to me, I just love that [1] they did it and [2] they placed it in the bathroom where a lot of men in the engagement-ring-buying-process end up under the ‘guise’ of needing a wee [yes, I really did say ‘wee’, deal with it] but actually going in there so they calm down, look at themselves in the mirror and say, “I’m going to do this, I’m going to do this, let’s do it”, before splashing some water on their faces before getting on with one of the best – and most expensive – decisions they’ll ever make in their life.
When I was buying Jill’s engagement ring, I was so freaked out by the whole thing [in a good way, I should add] that I got called back to the jeweller on FOUR different occasions because of mistakes I’d made on the cheque, including once where I’d SPELT MY OWN NAME INCORRECTLY!!!
Getting married is a big thing. A very big thing.
It stirs up a hornets nest of feelings and thoughts – and that’s when you know you’re absolutely sure you want to be with the person you love for the rest of your life, let alone when you feel you might be about to make a massive mistake.
And that’s why I like that sign because it captures the fears and nervousness of people – or, more specifically men, then helps calm them down.
Reassures them.
Gives them clarity and perspective.
Then pushes them out the toilet door so they can go and spend a bloody fortune on an engagement ring even though the wife-to-be feels it is perfectly acceptable to return the favour by buying a $3.99 wedding ring from the local Argos.
But I digress.
Ahem.
Anyway, marriage is a wonderful institution, however if you listen to Aziz Ansari’s – and to be fair, Groucho Marx – perspective on it, you may find that particular term may be more appropriate than you first thought:
