What is being married like?

The question comes from my 16 (almost 17) year-old brother-in-law on the eve of his sister's wedding. Derek and I look at each other, unsure how to respond. What is being married like? There's no one word to describe the covenant between two people and God. It's like being with your best friend 24/7, which is awesome most of the time, and occasionally difficult. It really is like two people learning to be one...which is especially hard when you've been two people for so long. Being married is like no other relationship. It's not like having a roommate, or siblings, or even a best friend. It's like having an extension of yourself, who you're still getting to know, who you rely on completely and who completely relies on you. It's like having a leader and a partner and follower all at once...and in that respect, it's a lot like dancing.

Let's play with that analogy: being married is like dancing.

Sometimes (more often than not) the man leads, and if he knows what he's doing, the dance goes more smoothly. He can only lead well, however, if his partner follows well and trusts in his leadership. You can expect to have your toes stepped on from time to time, and every once in a while you'll get out of sync and have to rediscover your rhythm. But for the most part, the dance is way more fun than you could ever have on your own; it does, after all, take two to tango. The dance can be fast, slow, sexy, flirtatious, fun, mellow, even awkward...but only truly enjoyable with your partner. Which dance you do is sometimes dictated by the music, but not always: you can lindy to a foxtrot when the mood takes you, and that's part of the joy of it all.

I love dancing with my husband. He is my favorite person to dance with, now and forever. I hope we're still tearing it up after 60 years of marriage.