by Professions tend to be reductionist and totalizing. Let me explain: for a psychologist, the past says (almost) everything; For an engineer, the laws of physics are behind our daily lives; For a lawyer, there is no society without order, without laws. I had the plebeian career of journalism in which from day one they teach you one thing: everything communicates. A gesture, a piece of information, a decision.
Maybe that translates into understanding why 22 years ago (it seems like an enormity but it happened – allow me the commonplace – to fly by) I proposed to my then-girlfriend that we get married. We had been together for a year and a half and nothing prevented us from starting a family without going through the Civil Registry, but I think it was a way of telling our little world that this was serious, that we sensed it forever. And if it didn’t happen, we had felt that way when exchanging rings. After all this time and two children and an ineffable dog who perceives himself as one of the family, we know that our marriage had depth. We communicated what we felt, and so we continued.
Despite what is assumed, I believe that getting married has more validity now than before. Sixty years ago, for example, it seemed unthinkable for the middle and wealthy classes to live together without papers. In Argentina, it was not until 1954 that legitimate children tended to be equated with “illegitimate” children, although in 1985 – just yesterday – they were granted full equality in hereditary rights. So,marriage had a sense of transcendence Or was it – although there must have been everything – a path that had to be taken in order not to feel like an outcast in the community?
However, now it is a conscious decision, no one cares if you have the famous red notebook under your belt. I return to the beginning: it is a way of saying (and telling oneself) that something was found that does not always appear, a coincidence of souls and bodies that is worth betting on. And to celebrate. Obviously, with a handful of rice for the bride and groom.
