#Midlife

Late-in-life marriage is a ceremony in which those who have survived the battlefields of childrearing and mortgage wars commit themselves to a fresh duty called "love" as a final judgment. They bestow a noble name on the ordeal of reluctantly reconciling decades of personal routines and values, marketing it to society as a "second youth". They swap bygone passions for an "aged aroma," chasing the mirage of a peaceful retirement. Like a financial product, they deposit youthful affection into a seniority-based insurance plan to prepay against future loneliness. Ultimately, they sign a contract proclaiming "everyone is free," only to willingly leap back into the prison of routine.