At the age of 19 my father received a call from my girl friend's mother announcing that she was pregnant. Back then that could mean but one thing -- get your suit on, you're getting married.
Two days before the scheduled event to which a dozen relatives from distant lands had flown in to be in attendance, my father received another call, this one to announce that she wasn't pregnant after all. So what was I to do? Well, I'm guessing you know the answer to that one. Back then when you made your bed you were expected to sleep in it.
We stayed together for 23 years not because we were deeply in love but because we had subconsciously embraced the idea that we were obligated to abide by our families' traditions and expectations. As you might imagine, the embrace of those ideas disappeared shortly after my father died and the younger of our two daughters graduated from college.