EastGirlsWest

So for several weeks now, one of the most emailed articles on NYTimes.com has been Questions Couples Should Ask (Or Wish They Had) Before Marrying.

Of course I emailed this to The Betrothed the first day it was published. And of course he rolled his eyes when I told him I thought we should discuss all the questions, one by one. I lieu of a good, long DTR (Discuss The Relationship), I not-so-subtly tackled the questions one by one, over the course of about ten days. Generally, I waited until we were trapped in the car, or caught him in a different place that he couldn’t flee easily - like the shower.

The questions included:

#14: If one of us were to be offered a career opportunity in a location far from the other’s family, are we prepared to move? Well, we’re screwed on that one. Let’s hope I never get offered that dream job in Iowa.

#8: Do we truly listen to each other and fairly consider one another’s ideas and complaints? I don’t know. We reached a stalemate on this one because he wouldn’t listen to me while I told him how wrong he was.

#4: Have we fully disclosed our health histories, both physical and mental? Stupid question. Obviously not.

My favorite is #7: Will there be a television in the bedroom?

Wouldn’t you know, this question was the one we had the strongest solidarity on. We may not agree on how save or spend money, or how to raise children or if we’ll even have them. But when it comes to TV intruding on the marriage bed, we’re in lockstep. And this, I think, is an EXCELLENT indicator of our future happiness and the longevity of our relationship.

For as long as we both shall live, there’s no way we’re falling asleep to the eerie glow of the plasma screen in our own bed. NO WAY. We do that on the couch.