Mrs. M.

Today was for milestones.

I picked up the certified copies of our marriage license today, and then proceeded to accomplish these two ‘firsts’:

1) Sign the first legal document with my married name (voter registration) and
2) Sign my first check with my married name (paid for my new KS driver’s license).

So now, according to the State of Kansas, I’m now officially Mrs. M., DL and all. All this married business is still sinking in, for both of us. We both sporatically divulge this secret knowledge, this revelation that “we’re married”. It feels at once like a mammoth undertaking and a simple daily act. Which is, I suppose, accurate.

Thoughts on marriage

I was browsing around for wedding vows and readings and stumbled upon these thoughts, which strangely enough relate to the current debate on the availability of marriage (or lack thereof) to all persons. It’s definitely got me thinking.

Via about.com

From “Goodridge Vs. Department of Health” by Massachusetts Supreme Court Chief Justice Margaret H. Marshall

Marriage is a vital social institution. The exclusive commitment of two individuals to each other nurtures love and mutual support; it brings stability to our society. For those who choose to marry, and for their children, marriage provides an abundance of legal, financial, and social benefits. In return it imposes weighty legal, financial, and social obligations….Without question, civil marriage enhances the “welfare of the community.” It is a “social institution of the highest importance.”

Marriage also bestows enormous private and social advantages on those who choose to marry. Civil marriage is at once a deeply personal commitment to another human being and a highly public celebration of the ideals of mutuality, companionship, intimacy, fidelity, and family…. Because it fulfills yearnings for security, safe haven, and connection that express our common humanity, civil marriage is an esteemed institution, and the decision whether and whom to marry is among life’s momentous acts of self-definition.