DR. WALLACE: I'm 18 and the girl I truly like is only 15. I met her about three months ago at a party for my friend's birthday. I really would love to take her out, but her father is very strict and won't let her start dating until she turns 16.

I've met her mother and she is a real nice lady and not as uptight as her husband about his daughter not dating until she's 16. Her mother likes me and approves of me as a date for her daughter when the magic date arrives in just three months, one week and six days.

Her mom is 18 years younger than her father and I wonder why she even married him. He's a grumpy old man and her mother is very attractive and an "up to date" thinker. I've encouraged this girl to get her mother to convince her father that her daughter and I would make a great couple and shouldn't have to wait to begin dating. I know a lot of other girls under the age of 16 who are dating and I've read that it's not only the age when they begin dating, but the maturity level they possess that determines when a girl is ready to begin dating. Help! — Frustrated, Newark, N.J.

FRUSTRATED: You don't need help; you need humility! With the attitude on display in your letter, I have my doubts whether you'll ever be an acceptable date for this girl. You may be frustrated by her parents' rules, but you'll get nowhere by trying so arrogantly to circumvent them and showing such disrespect for her dad in the process.

You are out of line here in every way, young man. With a guy like you waiting in the wings, her father may even decide to raise his daughter's dating age to 17!

I suggest you forget about this girl altogether and consider dating girl closer to your age.

NEVER TAKE LOVE FOR GRANTED

DR. WALLACE: My boyfriend and I are planning to get married after we graduate from Indiana University in the spring. We are both education majors and we both plan to become teachers.

We have been dating for nearly two years, yet our families aren't happy about our pending marriage. We come from very different backgrounds. We have different religions and are different racially. I was born in Korea and my future husband was born in Egypt. And to make things more interesting, one of us voted Democratic while the other voted Republican.

Many of our close friends and relatives seem to doubt that we're good candidates for marriage to each other. We are determined to prove them wrong. What do you think we can do once we're married to make sure our marriage lasts "till death do we part? — Sarah, Bloomington, Ind.

SARAH: Every marriage of two people is a marriage of differences. Across-the-board sameness is a recipe for eternal boredom, not eternal bliss! What I'm saying is that you and your boyfriend, so long as you love each other, have as much chance for lifelong marital happiness as most other couples.

My suggestion is this: Never take your love for granted. Don't bury it and forget about it as you build a life together. Let your love remain alive and active, influencing every decision you make. Find ways to express your love for your partner every single day. If you do this, no difficulty will be too big for the two of you to handle together.

Dr. Robert Wallace welcomes questions from readers. Although he is unable to reply to all of them individually, he will answer as many as possible in this column. Email him at rwallace@thegreatestgift.com. To find out more about Dr. Robert Wallace and read features by other Creators Syndicate writers and cartoonists, visit the Creators Syndicate website at www.creators.com.