For better or for worse....As long as its better

As a divorced woman I realize that people have severely misinterpreted marriage vows. About 50% of marriages end in divorce and a lot of that has to do with unrealistic expectations. There is a reason fairy-tale, happily ever after movies only last 2hrs. I bet if there was an extended version, we would see them ready to kill each other. That's because marriage is not a fairy-tale, It's real life. Love may be a fairy tale but if love is all it took to be married, divorce attorneys would be broke. The problem is people don't realize the actual work it takes to turn two lives into 1. "For worse" doesn't mean a couple of arguments about dishes. Worse means thru addiction, financial crisis, cheating (yes ladies cheating) and an assortment of other hard things. Forever is just that. Too often people fall in love and decide to get married in the "high off love phase". You know the phase where we think his jealousy is cute and her compulsive spending on shoes is ok because it means she's always sexy. Those things get old REAL fast. But we are such an "instant gratification society" as my girlfriend put it, that as long as its good right now we are good. Soon as things go south, we're out. Marriage isn't about that. Its about a lifetime commitment to try your hardest to make it through life together. Life is not easy or sweet all the time. Its heartache and stress and failure. So why would marriage not include all those things too? People should be together for years and only after they survive a hard life altering situation, then should they consider marriage. Marriage is less about the party and more about life's journey. Ride hard. CHECK.