The church says pre-marital
counseling is important for
the success of a marriage,
like it is crucial to discuss
with an infant why it is im-
portant that the infant
consider a college degree
and perhaps a post-graduate
education. It won’t compute.
So, he used to say to glassy-
eyed couples that they are
going to do what they are
going to do with or without
the benefit of clergy and that
they should come back in
a year in all the wonder of
post-traumatic shock syndrome
to discuss the reality that
what the couple has embarked
on is the most difficult
journey imaginable, because
after a year, if then, what
they have done, are doing
and will do begins to become
imaginable in all of its
glory and horror. Imagine
that.