Being married means feeling a range of emotions, not just joy and bliss
What if it turned out that Walt Disney was wrong? The grand animator who made fairy tales about young princes and princesses who married and “lived happily ever after” may have perpetrated one of the largest — and most destructive — myths of all time.
The world fell for it so badly that millions of marriages were destroyed because of the acute misfit between the fantasy and the reality of married life. Like all messages, Disney’s seeped into the culture at large, causing people to have totally misguided expectations of their most important and sacred adult relationships.
Go find a photo of yourself as a child and show it to me. There you are, smiling your biggest smile at your uncle’s wedding or grinning your biggest grin at your brother’s bar mitzvah. You look happy, right? Can we deduce from studying that picture that you were a happy child? You never cried, right? You didn’t fight with your siblings, am I right? You got perfect test scores, always cleaned your room, and went to bed on time — I can tell by looking at your glowing face right here in this photo. You were a perfect kid with a perfect life.
Now please go get me a picture of your mom. Is that the same simchah? I think it must be. Wow, she looks beautiful. Her smile is even bigger than yours! I can see how happy she is, too. Nothing bothers her, right? I bet she was always patient, loving, understanding, and kind — I can see that in her eyes. I can’t picture a person like her ever losing her cool, feeling harried, or arguing with your dad; I bet your parents were the happiest people in the world. I can see that here in this picture.
Create a free account to keep reading.
