Gilmore Girls and Blue-Eyed Romance
I've been thinking a lot about relationships lately. And by lately, I mean my entire life. They baffle me. I can be a part of them, of course, but I still have no idea what makes or breaks a relationship.
How does a family become separate people? How do two people come together to make a family? What happens between two people that makes them decide to stay together forever? And what pushes them apart?
According to the CDC, in 2011, 7.4 per 1000 people in Florida got married. That's down from 10.9 in 1990. Apparently, forever love is getting less popular... Coincidentally, so is divorce. 4.5 per 1000 got divorced in 2011, while 6.3 per 1000 divorced in 1990.
I didn't mean to get into statistics, though they are interesting. It's not the reasons that people get together that I don't understand. I know the reasons why I love my sister, and I know why I like to be around her. It's the abstract bit about the relationship between people that I can't get my mind around. The quintessential mother-daughter relationship played out so well by Lauren Graham and Alexis Bledel in Gilmore Girls. Can there ever be two people who understand each other as well as Lorelai and Rory?
I'm not sure that's what I meant either. This abstract bit is so strange to me I can't even describe what it is. How's this: I have almost nothing in common with my sister. She loves any outdoor activity; if I spend too much time outside, well, I'd just rather stay inside. She loves animals more than anything (I joke sometimes that she's going to have a bigger house for her dogs than for her, because that is how much she loves them), and I like only a few. She even likes frogs and spiders. Which I think is insane. So how does our relationship work at all? What is it about people that makes them want to be around other people, even people they have almost nothing in common with? Are antisocial people missing some gene that everybody else has? What about shy people? Where do they fit in?
As the author of this blog, am I supposed to be the one to answer these questions? I guess if I am, I'd bring up the anthropological aspect of romantic relationships: that we marry people we think will produce the best children. If you think about it that way, it doesn't matter who the person is (though I'd suggest staying away from psychopaths). What matters is how well their traits will serve your children. If we decided that blue eyes are better (totally hypothetical, of course, has nothing to do with anything at all), then I'd have to find a guy with blue eyes. (Not that I'd mind.)
This is so all over the place, I'd like to start over, but I have to sleep in 4 minutes, and I have about 30 minutes of book left. So, welcome to my stream of consciousness. I hope you enjoyed the ride.
Fun fact: In Nevada in 2011, 36.9 per 1000 people got married. In 1990, 99 of them did. The divorce rates are closer to the other states at 5.6 and 11.4 respectively. Pretty loving people in Nevada, huh?
How does a family become separate people? How do two people come together to make a family? What happens between two people that makes them decide to stay together forever? And what pushes them apart?
According to the CDC, in 2011, 7.4 per 1000 people in Florida got married. That's down from 10.9 in 1990. Apparently, forever love is getting less popular... Coincidentally, so is divorce. 4.5 per 1000 got divorced in 2011, while 6.3 per 1000 divorced in 1990.
I didn't mean to get into statistics, though they are interesting. It's not the reasons that people get together that I don't understand. I know the reasons why I love my sister, and I know why I like to be around her. It's the abstract bit about the relationship between people that I can't get my mind around. The quintessential mother-daughter relationship played out so well by Lauren Graham and Alexis Bledel in Gilmore Girls. Can there ever be two people who understand each other as well as Lorelai and Rory?
I'm not sure that's what I meant either. This abstract bit is so strange to me I can't even describe what it is. How's this: I have almost nothing in common with my sister. She loves any outdoor activity; if I spend too much time outside, well, I'd just rather stay inside. She loves animals more than anything (I joke sometimes that she's going to have a bigger house for her dogs than for her, because that is how much she loves them), and I like only a few. She even likes frogs and spiders. Which I think is insane. So how does our relationship work at all? What is it about people that makes them want to be around other people, even people they have almost nothing in common with? Are antisocial people missing some gene that everybody else has? What about shy people? Where do they fit in?
As the author of this blog, am I supposed to be the one to answer these questions? I guess if I am, I'd bring up the anthropological aspect of romantic relationships: that we marry people we think will produce the best children. If you think about it that way, it doesn't matter who the person is (though I'd suggest staying away from psychopaths). What matters is how well their traits will serve your children. If we decided that blue eyes are better (totally hypothetical, of course, has nothing to do with anything at all), then I'd have to find a guy with blue eyes. (Not that I'd mind.)
This is so all over the place, I'd like to start over, but I have to sleep in 4 minutes, and I have about 30 minutes of book left. So, welcome to my stream of consciousness. I hope you enjoyed the ride.
Fun fact: In Nevada in 2011, 36.9 per 1000 people got married. In 1990, 99 of them did. The divorce rates are closer to the other states at 5.6 and 11.4 respectively. Pretty loving people in Nevada, huh?
I'm figuring this out slowly, if you decide to look at my blog. please excuse the profanity or anything that's revolting. I want to speak my mind. I really enjoy the way you write.
ReplyDeleteThank you! And of course you should always write exactly what you want to say.
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