A [not so much] Love Story

So one thing that was hard to get used to here is that there are like 30 different people groups in our STATE alone. That means that 30 different languages (NOT dialects) are spoken, 30 different cultures and traditions are practiced and basically there is no one way to say, "This is how we do it here."

So with that disclaimer made, I will say that among some of those 30 different groups represented, there is still the tradition of "paying" if you will, for a bride. My helper's family is among those who practice this, and I am going to tell you the story of her nephew, who is in his early 20's.

A couple of months ago, his entire family got together and went to his girlfriend's house to propose {i.e. make an offer}. It's really fun to watch one of these because the boy's family goes carrying food and gifts, they all get dressed up and walk together to her house. Everything seemed to be going okay, except that they couldn't pin the father down on an exact price.

What the father does is jack the price up really high if a) he doesn't like the boy or b) his daughter doesn't want to get married. Since the father wouldn't agree to a price, the family had to go home and start considering other options.

So tonight they were going to go propose to another girl. NOT his girlfriend, another girl.

I felt REALLY bad for him while my helper was telling me this story, so I asked her why he had to get married NOW, why not wait till his broken heart had healed. She totally poo-pooed that idea.

His father is dead and he is the oldest of several siblings, so in their culture, it is time for him to take on a wife. It won't be long before his brothers want to marry, and the family would 1)be shamed if a younger brother got married first, 2) be hard pressed to keep the money they have now and/or not be able to pay both, and c) be shamed if he couldn't find another, better bride.

So they went and found him one. Poor guy, huh? But I figure you never really know the person you marry until you're stuck with them, so he has just as good of being in love with this girl in five years as he would have had with his girlfriend.

MOVING ON

I have been wanting to scrap a page about Max's love affair with his Bapa {daddy}. I mean he seriously is a fool for Joel, and the fun part is that Joel is SUCH a fool for Max, too. Of course they are the same person, so it makes sense that they like each other so much...

Last month Chrissy W at ES held a contest to pick someone to use as a "muse" if you will for a new set of templates by her, ,and I won! I won a GC to her shop and the glory of having a set of templates made based on my layouts. The best part is that I get to use the templates without feeling like I am "cheating" by using the templates since they were, after all, designed by me.

I made this page about Max & Joel using one of those templates and Dani's Father Knows Best kit. I think they'll be coming out Monday.

Thanks for stopping by! Hope your Saturday is full of fun and your offers of marriage don't get rejected. :)