civil partnership
You are not the user - is a rule of thumb in digital product design. In the use of social norms and tradition though, it's safe to assume that we're all participants, stakeholders and beneficiaries to some extent - using, misusing or abusing cultural practices based on personal preferences or values.
My mother told me that she didn't think I'd ever choose to marry. I confess it was out of character - 'till the end of time' used to sound like a threat; But I’ve learned, since, that the unfathomable future is nothing more than a collection of nows, and a marriage is nothing more than what you need it to be.
Last year, we signed a piece of paper under the special marriage act and sealed our legal status. There was no proposal or ring or wedding or priest. We don't believe in religious ritual, and barely saw the whole ordeal as something worth celebrating more than getting a driver's license.
A social license, is how I've come to understand marriage. We had some whiskey and wine that evening. The paperwork was needed for practical purposes, and that we love each other was a given. I haven’t been to his home - there hasn’t been a need to - but for now, he is home.
Sometimes I think about how my laptop is older than our relationship. There’s something to be said about well designed objects that outlive some relationships. Could there be an intentionality to the relationships we build that reflect a design ethos similar to that of a timeless product?
A fleeting thought I needed to get out of my head nonetheless.