Living Together Before Marriage

T has a secret TV addiction: The Maury Povich Show. And while we were both off work on FMLA, we watched more DNA tests and lie detector results than I care to say. And of course on T’s days off, he still rushes home to see the latest episode.
Well, today Maury asked the viewers "Should you live together before getting married? Or should you take the more traditional route and wait?"

...Really, Maury?

No offense, but your guests aren't exactly the "traditional" type. But T and I took the question seriously, and it started an interesting conversation.

T mockingly quoted the old-school saying, "Why buy the cow when you can get the milk for free?" (To which I pretended to be insulted that he called me a "cow".)

But I think this question seemed relevant to us for the same reason I began this blog. Just because we did not choose the same path as our great-grandparents, does that make our family any less functional, ordinary, or legitimate? I am friends with a few couples who went the “traditional” route: dated, got engaged, got married, moved in together. Unfortunately, their marriage wasn’t exactly what they hoped, so they thought having a baby would fix their problems. Wrong. Now they are even worse than before.

Of course these few examples are not indicators of how everyone’s life will be, but it made me realize that there is more than one way to achieve a healthy family. And right now, T, TJ, and I have a completely functional and loving family, and I would not trade our experiences for the world!