Thank you ngdawg. How long did you live with your spouse before marriage?
The idea of marriage seems arbitrary in our case. I guess it is the commitment I was after, but I am quite cynical about longevity of commitment in marriage compared to cohabitation. We have a strong commitment to each other; it is just easier to exit if things do not work out - which is actually a benefit of cohabitation at our age in my opinion. I have no idea why marriage is on my mind, as I told myself I would not even think about it until after completing grad school. It could be related to societal/familial pressures, but usually I am tougher than this!
I am actually a little embarrassed by my original post. At my latest family function, the issue was brought up; while I brushed it off at the time, it lingered in the back of my mind for a couple of days. Then, after talking to my coworkers, I started to feel that if my boyfriend does not want to get married, it must be because I am not the "one" for him. Call it temporary low self esteem, depression, or hormonal angst, but I let the idea blow out of proportion (hence the wasting each other's time bit). Our relationship is exactly what I want at this point - relaxing, satisfying, fulfilling. So yea, that post was written when I was feeling quite unclear and upset. Once I got some quality sleep, I woke up with the realization that I can not throw away a relationship so meaningful and important due to uncertainty or something I do not necessarily hold in high regards (marriage).
Honestly, cohabitation is great. I would never marry someone without living with them for many years prior, and feel that my boyfriend and I still need a few more years under our belts (and I more education) before even thinking about something like marriage.