Ten reasons to get married (or not):
Because they have gotten bad press:
Croslin's mother, Lisa Croslin, said, "They've been trying to get me to do this for five months now. And I told them you need to wait until you're 18. But now that everything's been going on and people have been trashing them, I'm going to let them do it. I know they love her...Haleigh, and they love each other."
Because the bride needs to prove she loves the children:
Misty twisted the photo of Haleigh which hung around her neck and told reporters, "Everybody will know I love Haleigh and Ronald and Junior, and we'll be a family."
Because a five year old girl has talked about it "always" or, at least mentioned it a few times during the last couple of months they've known each other:
"This is what Haleigh wanted. She has always talked about it, and even if she's not with us, she is still with us," Croslin said.
Because the five year old would want them to tie the knot:
Haleigh's grandmother, Teresa Neves, took pictures on the evening of the marriage proposal. She said the couple plans to tie the knot because it's what Haleigh would want.
"He feels like he's fulfilling a wish for Haleigh," Neves said.
Because the wedding is for a girl who can't be there: "It is about Haleigh. It is for Haleigh. We'd love for Haleigh to be there. If they were able to find Haleigh in five minutes, we have a little flower girl dress for her," said Haleigh's grandmother, Teresa Neves.
Because they want a 17-year-old to replace the children's existing Mommy: Her grandmother, Teresa Neves said, "This wedding is for Haleigh. When she comes home, Misty will be Mommy. That's what she wanted when she was here, and when she comes home, that's what she'll have."
Because now they finally have some time off from work: We want Haleigh to have everything that ever wanted. And there were things that we couldn't do, when she was here. Wedding was not something we could do, because daddy always had to go to work and there just was not enough time for all that. Now that we have this little bit of time while we're waiting on Haleigh, we're going to do what Haleigh wants so when she comes home, everything's the way she wants it. (This one from Teresa Neves whom I expected better of.)
Because a couple who have been together for what, four or five months, have planned it forever and are ready:
"They have been planning this forever. They just decided they were ready," said Croslin's sister, Lindsey Croslin.
Because they need something to cheer up after Haleigh's been gone for weeks and Ronald has been given bad press (this one's from Annette Sykes):
Cause it's time for something happy to happen. After weeks and weeks and weeks of Haleigh being gone, plus all of the trashing that Ronald took, erm, it's just time for something good, that's all, you know, just time for something good to happen"
Because they love one another (Ok, this one's good. Great that GGma Sykes came up with it at last.) "They got married cause they love one another. "
I feel that the relatives' spin about the wedding means that they know in their heart of hearts that the timing looks bad and it needs to be rationalized and explained away. Why then do it at all? Why don't they seek counseling to guide them?
The quotes are from the articles or the videos on the sites:
http://www.news4jax.com/news/18915320/detail.html#-
http://www.cbs47.com/content/topstories/story/Ronald-and-Misty-Marry/l58BKNsBNUKMyeHQp1nYHw.cspx
http://www.firstcoastnews.com/news/l...133610&catid=3
http://www.firstcoastnews.com/news/local/news-article.aspx?storyid=133274&provider=rss
http://www.firstcoastnews.com/news/local/news-article.aspx?storyid=133570&catid=3