Marriage.

My little brother is a freshman in high school.  This is his week of finals and he is furiously turning in projects and preparing for his exams... if by preparing, I mean waiting until the last minute and not studying because he is assininely intelligent.

He called me last night and asked me if he could come over to interview Dave and I for a project he had to turn in {today, I might add} and he wanted to talk about marriage.

Marriage. 

He will be fifteen in two weeks.

And he wants to talk about marriage.  Our marriage.

My brother, who doesn't usually say more than two words to me because he is a freshman and beyond cool.  My brother, who is usually surrounded by a group of five other obnoxious teenage friends.  My brother, who barely acknowledges my presence when I am standing in front of him wants to ask Dave and I intimate questions about how we make our marriage work so he can report back to a class full of fourteen and fifteen year olds.

It was awesome.  Really.  And a little weird too. 

We shared with him the moment, just after walking back up the aisle where we snuck off to a room to be alone for a few moments instead of having a receiving line.  We talked about the reactions to our engagement, some I must say weren't the most positive and hurtful.  We talked about what makes our marriage work and what pieces are the most difficult.  We each described marriage in one word and explained why we chose that one word.  We thought about things like how Finn has changed our relationship.  He asked us, "what is the point of marriage?"  And really... what IS the point?  Have you ever thought about it?  My favorite question by far was, "what do you want to tell a room full of freshman boys about marriage?"

Our answer?  Don't get married until you are at least 25, be on the same page about money, and communicate.

The discussion made us both think a lot about our marriage and how far we've come.  Together.  And it reminded us that sometimes a little mindful thinking about your marriage comes at just the right time.  If an almost fifteen year old is the catalyst for that, so be it. 

Even when you're busy, being in love with each other is what got you here, to this place.  And it takes just a moment to bite your tongue, to say I Love You, to kiss, to be there in your marriage.  A little nudge to have sex in the afternoon, to make his favorite dinner, to finish a nagging item on her 'honey do' list, to not let the day to day interfere with the fifty year story of your marriage. 

So tell me, what would YOU tell a bunch of fourteen year olds about marriage?  What one word describes marriage for you?  What do you think about marriage?