I was over at my mother's house yesterday, and she started up with the "when are you going to settle down" spiel halfway through my visit. She and my younger siblings are rather tradcon-ish, and think that the best kind of life for a woman is one where she's wed to a guy who does better than her financially and can provide a house, a new car, vacations, whatever. They're slightly pissed and very confused as to why I've past the age of 30 with no marriage or kids on the horizon. Although, both my biological parents are twice divorced, so no good role models for married life there.

The thing is, I've never heard a decent argument for why marriage is such a great goal to aspire to. Quite the opposite...most of my friends have been married for over 10 years, and when I look at their lives, it's just not anything I'd want for myself.

They can never just commit to anything, they always have to check with their wives first. They must be home at a certain time each night, they have to share expenses, and often I hear about them joke about working hard for their "allowance". Even the guys who don't have kids yet aren't usually free to spend their weekends as they want, as their spouse has made plans to go places or have people over. They vent to me about the disagreements they have, but it always ends with "happy wife, happy life" regardless of who was actually in the wrong. Honestly, even when things are going well, it sounds as though marriage is a constant uphill battle when compared to other relationships.

So, men and women of PPD, other than the legal stability given to couples by a marriage certificate, which I think is important for people to have when children are involved, are there any reasons to get hitched?