The Skin Of Our Teeth

“I didn't marry you because you were perfect. I didn't even marry you because I loved you.

I married you because you gave me a promise. That promise made up for your faults. And the promise I gave you made up for mine.

Two imperfect people got married and it was the promise that made the marriage.

And when our children were growing up, it wasn't a house that protected them; and it wasn't our love that protected them--it was that promise."

Thornton Wilder, 1943, The Skin of Our Teeth