Age is but a number

I apologize to my maybe four to five readers out there for the delay in posting. I have been busy with work and school. Let's not forget the fact that I can be incredibly lazy, too. I hope you will accept my apology in the form of a cute video of Bella:

Our dog has issues. She doesn't like it when a blow dryer is pointed at her, even if it is turned off.

Now, back to wedding stuff.

Brandon and I are a young couple. I am turning 21 years old in July, while Brandon will turn 22 next month. We used to joke that if we got married after his graduation in May like most cadets do, I wouldn't even be old enough to legally drink champagne.

When people heard that I was engaged, those who did not know me well were less than happy about the news. Debbie's friend went so far as to claim that I was "wasting my life."

According to divorcerate.org:

Age at marriage for those who divorce in America
Under 20 years old
Women: 27.6%
Men: 11.7%
20 to 24 years old
Women: 36.6%
Men: 38.8%
25 to 29 years old
Women: 16.4%
Men: 22.3%
30 to 34 years old
Women: 8.5%
Men: 11.6%
35 to 39 years old
Women: 5.1%
Men: 6.5%

The statistics for young marriages look grim. There is a significant decrease in the divorce rate for those who marry after 24. It doesn't help that the divorce rate in this country is already a miserable 50%.

We both come from divorced families. Brandon and I were exposed to broken marriages, and yet how are we so amazingly confident in ourselves?

Truthfully, I have absolutely no idea. We love each other. That should be enough, right? Well, that can't be the case because our parents were in love once, too. So how are we supposed to know that we will last?

We don't. But we do know that we have something so great, so magnificent, that we do not want to lose it. We're taking a chance. We're gambling. We're making a leap. We're doing all of the overused metaphors you can think of. What is important is that at least we're doing it together.

I have always been more mature than my peers. I suppose you could call me boring and lacking a sense of adventure. Either way, I feel older than I actually am. I have been told that I look and behave much older than 20. The general agreement is that there is something about the way I carry myself. I never found the need to climb on monkey bars or imagining that I was a princess in a faraway land. That was just silly nonsense and a waste of time. Instead, I was the kid who organized the toy section at Marshall's or Ross while waiting for her family to be done shopping.

I know that I am ready to be Brandon's wife.

We have already made it thus far against all odds. Upon his graduation, Brandon and I will have finally joined the 2% Club. Only two percent of cadets make it through all four years at West Point with their high school girlfriend. As a couple, we have already encountered more stress and tribulations than can be expected out of anybody, and yet we powered through.

So all of you doubters out there, please just relax and trust in us. We know that you are concerned, and we appreciate it, but we know what we're doing.