Pineapple & Macadamia Breeze

I have been reading Leap of Faith, the autobiography of Lisa Halaby, Princeton grad and daughter of a Swedish/European mother and an Arab father, who married King Hussein of Jordan and became Queen Noor. It is fascinating history on both a micro and macro scale and a perspective of a much more enlightened Muslim religion than we glean from the news on fundamentalist Muslim terrorists. But for universal relevance what caught my eye was this statement: "All newly married couples go through an adjustment period, and the King and I were no exception. The adjustments were more pronounced for me, of course; I had married into my husband's life much more than he had married into mine."

It made me wonder how many people marry into their spouse's life on an equal footing. One can imagine two high school sweethearts, from the same small town and the same faith, yet with no assurance of compatibility if, for example the husband spends all his free time with his buddies building race cars and drinking and his bride is home alone waiting for his greasy clothes to complete the rinse cycle so she can throw them in the dryer. Of course, I'm a long way from having The Hawaiian Wedding Song played for me but it did make me wonder. My middle America English ethnicity vs. K's Polynesian heritage I don't see as being an issue. My concern, rather, is would I just be his cook, laundress, and bill-payer against his post-PhD intellect and academia? Or could we really marry into each other's life?