tired of waiting?

So everyone's buzzing about the Harrison Ford/Calista Flockhart engagement. Peruse articles on the topic and you'll see the announcement padded with a "finally" disclaimer: The couple had been dating for 7 years.

I read a book once that said after two years, you should know whether you want to tie the knot with someone.

I think that's a little too short.

It's one thing to impose an arbitrary age deadline for when you'll get married.

But is it any better to, once you know you really care about somebody, tell yourself "we're going to be engaged by xxx or we're breaking up"?

I think it's a fine line. As much as I hate applying time frames to relationships, I've seen so many girls hang on to guys who clearly aren't the marriage type. They'll relocate and alter their schedules all under a remote hope that one day the guy will magically change his mind and yearn for some deep commitment.

Is that hope alone worth a seven-year wait?