When I was having a chit-chat with my colleague, she asked me all of a sudden, "How did your husband propose to you at that time? Was it romantic?" I was numbed¹ by her words for a while, and then burst into laughter, "My husband is a bit rigid²（死板的）, so do you think his proposal would be romantic?" Though I said in that way, I felt very sweet in heart when thinking of my husband's proposing to me. To be honest, his proposal was actually by no means（决不） romantic without flowers, diamond ring and any other surprise. It was even could not be called "marriage proposal".

 

At that time, he gave me a book about Ireland, which, now I am thinking was a long-established plan. At the weekend when I finished the book, he came to me and asked me whether I had finished the book. Seeing me nod my head, he felt very pleased and said to me in a low but happy voice, "If you like, we can get married in an Irish way!"

 

At that time, my heart was totally convinced by the romantic and sacred law of marriage in Ireland. The book told me that Ireland believes in Catholicism and prohibited divorce. Therefore, when a couple get married, they are supposed to choose the time of their marriage which ranges from 1 year to 100 years. The most impressive of this law of marriage lies in the inverse³（相反的） relationship between the time of marriage and the fees to be charged. If you choose 1 year for your marriage, you shall pay as much as 2, 000 sterling⁴ pounds plus receiving a dictionary-thick reference of rights and responsibilities. But if you choose 100 years, then you are very lucky and only need to pay 0.5 pound for the fees and receive a short but heart-touching note in all women's eyes: "I have no idea the clear rights and responsibilities for my left hand to my right hand, my right leg to my left leg, my left eye to my right eye and my right sphere of brain to the left. Actually, they are an integrated whole and live by each other and cheer for each other. Finally, I would like this pink note to convey my best wishes to your one-hundred-year marriage! May you live happily all your lives!"

 

I still remember at that time that I said to my husband, "Ok, so sir, please choose the time you expect our marriage to last!" He said happily, "I even do not bother to think about it and would definitely choose 100 years because it is highly money-saving!"

 

Later, I married him, a man who would like to stay with me for 100 years. Although we are not bound by the law of marriage in Ireland, we have cherished our vow⁵ to discipline ourselves all the time. We have married like Irish people and look on our marriage as a life-long commitment and spare no effort to nourish it hand in hand as we are gradually aging together.

 

I also sincerely hope that every pair of lovers in the world can get married like Irish people and love and protect each other whole-heartedly by committing themselves to a 100-year marriage.

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