Roz- I love reading your articles.

i got married at 22…right after college.
The only person I can recall saying anything negative was his mother. She was a notorious Negative Nancy.

He died at 49, I was 46. I would have been slightly more devastated if we put off getting married because his Mom didn’t like it. I had a really great marriage and we really did grow up together. It was hard to figure out how to live without him and to lose our ability to grow old together. I’ve made the best of my life without him — hey, I even fell in love again. I’ve been with my new husband for 14 years now, we got married six years ago.

Should I mention that my late father-in-law, my first husband’s Dad, whom late mother-in-law divorced when they were in their late thirties was her second husband? Should I mention that after my husband’s father she never remarried and was kind of miserable her entire life? Some people are so rude they don’t consider their own failings before giving stupid advice.

No marriage has a guarantee. Yeah, a marriage between two young people is risky but it can be wonderful! BTW- at 22 I was all grown up. Sounds to me like your son might be one of those 22 year old grown ups too.