Eight Years of Not-So-Pure Bliss

This photo was taken at the Then and Now concert last May. I just recently figured how to download my photos from my Olympus camera to my newly reformatted PC. ^_^

Eight years ago, when I was still working for GSIS, and my grandparents were my boss, I vividly remember that day when I decided to ask my Grandpa's permission if Peter and I can get married the way we wanted to - with no fuss, no hoopla, no money even... just me and Peter and our two hearts wanting to be bound as one (with our closest friends and family, of course).


Why my grandfather? He has always been the person of authority in my life. My parents were more like friends to me and sometimes, dare I say, that I even act more mature than them. So yes, it was my grandfather that I needed to ask permission from when I was about to make the biggest decision of my life. And you know what he told me?


While he was reading the newspaper, lying down, with his feet up on his office couch, and without even looking at me, he just said in his Visayan accent "Jen-jen, ang pag-aasawa, hindi yan parang kanin na pag napaso ka, iluluwa mo. Pang habang buhay na yan." (Jen-Jen, marriage is not like a spoonful of hot rice that you'll spit out when your mouth gets burnt. It's for life.)


I remained standing there, in front of him, with my heart pounding so wildly and uttered with the most confident voice I could muster: "Oo, lolo, alam ko." (Yes, grandpa, I know.) I was only 24.


"Anong plano nyo sa buhay?" (What are your plans in life?), was my grandpa's next question.


So I told him about Peter's job, that we plan to live in his house in Bulacan because we needed to be there for his dying mom (Mama was then undergoing chemo and radiotherapy for her breast cancer that metastasized into her lungs, and then her brain... R.I.P., mama), and that we didn't want kids, and we just want to be together legally and stop living in sin.


And then my grandpa just nodded. As simple as that. And I was free! Free to marry the man I loved more deeply than anybody else I've known.



I'm kind of at a loss for words while writing this... I am just so filled with emotion remembering all those days of hardship and sacrifices. Ours was indeed not a fairytale... far from it. Yes, there were many days of bliss but just like in any marriage, trials did not pass us.


I still remember those times when I was still in my early 20s and I was always jealous like hell. I once told him to stop seeing his friends; I almost had Peter pack his things up because I didn't want him anymore. Thanks to our best friends (Peachie and Brando), they helped us see the light after that. Thanks to Popsy too; he always made things comfortable for us and loved us with no conditions.


As Peter and I plodded through this exciting and risky path of being a married couple, there were times when little things got blown out of proportion; like why would Peter choose to not tell me things when I repeatedly told him I always wanted the truth no matter how much it hurts. After all, he's only human and will make mistakes.


He learned it the hard way. Coz he didn't understand before why he needed to share with me things that he knew he could take care of on his own, without having to stress me about it, because for him, he'd rather not know if ever I will do something that will make him unhappy. I chose to tell him anyway. And like him, I learned it the hard way too.


We adjusted and we keep at it, even after having been married for eight years.


We are like two peas in a pod but oh so different. Sometimes, we just laugh at how different we are and how we can't see eye to eye many times in the course of our marriage.


Today, on June 8, on our 8th wedding anniversary, we celebrate those difficult times we were able to conquer; we honor those moments when blessings seem to keep pouring down from heaven; we thank all those family members and friends who saw the real us and never expected anything less; we praise those people who understood our eccentricities and never judged us for it.


To, Peter, my husband... you know I love you no matter what, and that I will always choose you over and over and over again, no matter how tough life can get for us. Cheers to YOU and ME... Just Us Two. Looking forward to spending the next eight years with you... and the next, and the next.... ^_^


P.S.


Yes, we watched Sex and the City (after Prince of Persia, thanks to Citibank's 4 almost free tickets... we only paid total of Php200!) last Sunday at Festival Mall.

We had another rare moment when we both felt that the fight scene of Carrie and John was our favorite. The script was amazing. And the gorgeous clothes and shoes... oh the shoes!!!

Anyway, when Carrie Bradshaw said: "... is it because I'm a nagging bitchy wife?" or something like that. And then John Preston said "I feel like I'm always disappointing you", we guffawed inside the theater after hearing that part! It's like we're watching ourselves through Carrie and Big! And just like them, with understanding and love in our hearts, we will always be "You and Me... Just Us Two."