[Nepeta]

Looks like a life anyone would want, until you get past the thin veneer.

I married in my early 20s and stayed that way for 10 years, which was more than enough. I'm 64 now and quite content and happy with being single all these years. I gave the ex back to his mother--maybe she finally taught him to take a bath daily and wash his hair more than once a week. He did like dirt. Nobody lies to me about money; I've been able to save money and stay out of debt. I don't have to worry about getting some weird STD. I don't have to be embarrassed by the ex's manners.

My only regret is that I ever married. Thin veneer? Try living honestly without being dragged down by someone else.

[Dilbert San Diego]

Sounds to me that many people, of both sexes, have weighed in and have explained reasons for why people don’t want to get married.

I was talking to a group of older men recently, and one man said, he married his girlfriend back in the day, because it was the only way he could have sex.

Younger men today don’t think in those terms. We live in an era in which people have no strings attached recreational sex.

Another issue is that people of both sexes seem to be self-centered. They want the other person to “complete” them in some way, and don’t seem willing to work through the bumps and bruises involved in daily life.

It does seem that women, especially career women, feel they are sacrificing big parts of their lives, if they choose to marry and especially have children. Raising children has become just another lifestyle choice, not a life that the vast majority of people expect to be the center of their adult lives.

If some people would rather be alone than settle for an imperfect spouse, I guess there’s nothing more I can add to this discussion. They have made their choices.