Half A Decade In Love

5 years married, 14 years together.

I still could not believe that Paolo and I have gone this far. We started back in 2004, I was 17, a freshman in the University of the Philippines while he was on his 3rd year, in De La Salle University. How we got together, was a sort of funny and beautiful. But does it matter? What matters is, at the early stage of our relationship, he made me a promise. A promise that he would show me how its like to be in a long and lasting relationship.

14 years later, we're celebrating our 5th year of marriage with our 4-year old son making our lives much more meaningful. I have nothing but beautiful words about our relationship - we have grown together - from teenagers living our lives to the fullest; to young adults trying to succeed in our respective careers and now to responsible parents raising and protecting another human being. We've been through a lot, our relationship has been tested many times but one thing kept us together - our commitment to each other.

I have always referred Paolo as my ultimate blessing. More than just being a boyfriend, he extended -his love and commitment to my family - loving them like his own. He has always been selfless and supportive - doing the best he can to make sure that we are well, we are fed and we are well taken cared of. I remember him having to save his school allowance so we can go on a date, or do "sidelines" so he can bring me to a fancy restaurant. When he did not have extra, he would still treat me, either with fast food meal or a tapsilog or lugaw meal in turo-turo. Everyday, he would commute his way to Navotas back home to Paranaque just to bring me home from UP Manila. (Which means he had to ride the LRT, Jeep, Tricycle many times) At a very young age, he has shown me dedication.

Through his love, I have found satisfaction. Life was not easy for me growing up but having someone to support, inspire and love me has made it gratifying. We found strength and inspiration in each other, that drove us to live and have better lives, especially now that we have our own family. Look where we are now.

Being married is far more difficult - there are quite a few surprises that we both never expected (as we were 9 years together prior to our wedding). Yet, those "surprises" actually keep our relationship more interesting. Now, we are both excited to wake up each day, dream and plan for our future, work hard, make serious decisions and see each plans getting accomplished one by one. Our relationship has transformed - from young kids arguing where to eat on a date to responsible adults deciding how much budget to spend on food each day. We are happy to see each other being able to afford things we only wished for when we were young. We are both very excited to build our lives and create a future for our son.

Silly as it sounds but even until now, I am still head over heels in love with the man who stole my heart at first sight. More than being in love with his beautiful chinky eyes or his thin lips, I think I am more in love with the kind person that he is. This is probably the secret of a lasting relationship - to stay in love, find a reason to fall in love, or just love the fact that no matter how good a person your partner is, there will always be something that he does that will annoy you - no matter how big or small it is.

Hope you liked my post.

PS: Shared with you our lovely weekend anniversary celebration at Wollongong and Blue Mountains! Hope you liked it :)

Much Love, 

The Mommy Roves