Dear Barack Obama,

Christina and I were watching one of our favorite TV shows, Parks and Recreation, last night. Two of the characters, Andy and April, were hastily married in a recent episode. Before the vows were exchanged, the main character, Leslie, tried to dissuade the two young lovers from into rushing into matrimony because she feared they were making a rash decision.

After making an impassioned speech, Leslie concluded by telling April she didn’t want to marry Andy.

“Yes, I do!” April exclaimed. “Then I’m gonna divorce him. Then I’m gonna marry him again.”

Christina and I laughed about this because we’ve wondered if we’re too young to be married. She also recently expressed a similar desire: to have distance from one another right now, only to discover we’re really meant to be together later. And there’s really not much you can do about that but laugh or cry, and laughing’s more fun.

In this most recent episode of the show, Andy and April found themselves unable to pay for their bills or keep their house clean–so they decide to take on their co-worker, Ben, as a roommate.

“Are you guys frying marbles?” the older, more mature fellow asks upon discovering evidence to suggest this on the stove.

“Yeah,” Andy explains in all earnestness. “To see if the fire alarm works.” As an afterthought, he adds: “It doesn’t.”

Ben tries to reform them, by telling him he’s going to teach them how to balance a budget and sending them out for some basic household necessities. Andy and April are instructed to get a set of oven mitts–handy items we recently acquired ourselves–and, instead, they get a pair of marshmallow shooters.

In the checkout lane, Andy begins reconsidering the items in their shopping cart, pointing out that they haven’t gotten anything on their list. “Sure we have,” April says. “We got the marshmallow shooters.”

“Those aren’t on the list,” he says.

April sighs in consternation, with an air of feeling trapped and defeated. Her new husband asks her what’s wrong.

“Adults are boring,” she confesses. “And I hate them. And I don’t want to buy all this stupid adult stuff and become boring adults.”

“Hey, listen to me,” Andy says, to lift her spirits. “Yes, we’re gonna get a dish rack and shower curtains and a cutting board, but if you think for one second I’m not gonna also get that marshmallow shooter so that I can shoot you in the face while you’re asleep, then you’re the dumbest woman I know.”

April smiles. relieved to know they’ll still do fun things together even though they have to start acting like grownups.

You don’t see that on TV much, and it was comforting. Christina’s a lot like April: quiet, quirky, and afraid of growing up. And I’m a lot like Andy: exuberant, goofy, and confident that, while growing up is hard, there’s still a lot of fun to be had. (I’m also told I dress like him.)

It’s not clear how long Andy and April, or Christina and I, will be together. But, in the meantime, the marriage is real and the characters are learning a lot about each other.

Crystal