ExposedNYC

I was bothered by the following email fairy tale that has been circling and landed in my inbox a few times:

World’s Shortest Fairy Tale

Once upon a time, a girl asked a guy, “Will you marry me?” The guy said “No” and the girl lived happily ever after and went shopping, drank martinis with friends, always had a clean house, never had to cook, had a closet full of shoes and handbags, stayed skinny, and was never farted on.

It provoked variations from numerous friends in varying states of marriage, singledom, one warily approaching the ultimate commitment, and even one from one of their boyfriends. I decided to combine some of my favorite elements of these into my own version:

Once upon a time, a girl asked a guy, “Will you marry me?” The guy said “Yes” and the two lived happily ever after, each made time for martinis and margaritas with their friends, used their combined incomes to hire someone to cook and clean house for them, always had someone to tell them how good they looked in their closets full of clothes or take care of them when they got sick and looked their worst, got a great workout every night that kept them in shape, and discovered the joy of being comfortable enough with some to engage in a farting contest.

I hate the idea that marriage means you have to lose yourself to someone. In my miles-away-from-engaged, in-no-way-informed-but-eternally-optimistic mind, I like to think that we will all find someone that doesn’t want us to give up all of the things that make us who we are. They just want to be around to share them. Seriously, why do we believe that women have to be alone to be independent? Although, I do have to say, I love that the story begins with a GIRL asks a GUY to marry her.

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