Those totals represent 8 and 9 percent, respectively, of the couples issued marriage licenses in those counties. Wisconsin is hiring a marriage policy coordinator. Judges in Grand Rapids, Mich., now have the power to refuse to wed couples who have not had counseling. Utah offers a marital skills course in high school. An ever-rising share of children live with single parents.
Research suggests, too, that today's singles enter marriages unprepared.
Many are children of divorce who lack basic knowledge about the inner workings of a marriage. Some harbor impossibly high expectations for marriage and are all too willing to abandon it at the first hint of discord. Marriage is forever,'' said Dennis Armstrong of Plantation. Then, in Zen style, couples sit face to face, hand to hand, knee to knee and share each other's undivided attention. We're all different.