We were classmates, cheat-mates in fact. ;)) It started with him waiting for me by my locker… or casually waiting for me outside my home, then offering to carry my FLORAL bag. Or my felix-the-cat metal briefcase. ;P Finding ways to sit beside me even though our seating arrangement was alphabetical.. His last name started with G, mine was U… kinda far apart huh? ;))

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We were seniors then. And it was almost the end of the school year before we really got serious about it. He was kinda torpe. ;P He would call me every night, but never said what his intentions were. I remember having to constantly fight with our party-line just so I can talk to him just a few minutes more.. For those of you born in this new techie generation, you don’t know just how LUCKY you are. (Party lines are people who often butt in on your telephone conversations by chance.. pldt often had wires crossed back then.)

My mom didn’t deem it necessary to install a phone in our room. So I would always wait for his call in the lobby at exactly 7pm. And standing for an hour just so I can have my kilig moments.

Anyway, going back to our “getting serious” part, I guess the thought of us going to separate universities got us antsy & scared that we might lose each other out there in the big bad world.. So I kinda forced him to say what was in his heart. (Haha yep you can say I was the more aggressive one in our non-relationship) So, after much prodding from my end, he finally said those 3 words I’ve been dying to hear.. “I LOVE YOU”… ;))

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At our high school prom.. <3 We only had eyes for each other.. BADUY!!! ;))

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Okay, so, we went on our first date. It was in harrison plaza. I was pa-kiyeme pa then & ordered a salad even though my stomach was really grumbling. Then we watched a tagalog movie, because I only watched filipino movies back then haha -Dear Heart, My Only Love & the likes!- I was such a sharonian! 😛

After that, he came to visit me frequently in the hospital where I lived because school already ended –no more sneaking off to see each other in school & after school. My mom realized that her daughter was no longer a baby & she will have to use one of the hospital rooms & convert it into a living room so I can entertain my “suitor” properly.

Summer came & went, I was in heaven with my new found happiness. Suddenly, we couldn’t bear to be apart anymore! It was a dilemma because he went to college in Taft & I went to college in Espana. His devotion to me was so cute & endearing. He picked me up everyday.. never mind that his schedule wasn’t the same as mine. At 11am every day from monday to saturday, he was there in his beat-up yellow car, waiting for me outside my building. For short, his tri-sem na dapat 3 year course became 4 years. He graduated 1 month after I did! Now if you don’t call that TRUE LOVE i don’t know what it is! 😉

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He was my escort at my first santa-cruzan ever (1 week before my debut, thus the exact same outfit).. And my escort at my debut. (to you young people out there.. I don’t advise that you make your boyfriend as your escort because for sure he will be in ALL your pictures. So, if you guys don’t end up together.. or, if you become each other’s worst enemy, OMG tapon lahat ng pictures.)

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March 17, 1991.. 5 years after we fell in love, we got engaged. My family wasn’t traditional chinese, but his was.. so our engagement party was pretty elaborate (with the “me walking backward” thing, alay of eggs -’til now I don’t know the reason behind it -Fertility perhaps?). But what the heck, I did get a lot out of it! ;P

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We honeymooned in Europe. By we, I meant my honey, my mom, my brother & my sister in law. 😛 On the most romantic trip of my life, I rode the gondola beside my mom! @_@ and viewed the charming city of paris with my family.

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My entire family was with us on our HONEYMOON. Talk about AWKWARD.

Here I am..on the gondola.. on my honeymoon.. with my Mom! ;P

But them coming along wasn’t a hindrance for sure. 😉 Soon enough, my baby girl was born. (I’d like to think she was conceived in the city of Looooovvvveeee!) Then my baby boy.. and lastly, another precious baby girl. One after the other they started coming. And as they came, I finally bade farewell to my perfect waistline. :'((

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With our first-born. Ate. My soul-sister! 🙂

And finally, Ate & Kuya with the baby of the family.. my Precious. Our growing family!!! <3

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Fast forward to now.. I can’t believe it’s been 24 years since I fell in love with the boy of my dreams. Even now, cheesy as it may sound, I’m still head-over-heels in love with him. His glance still makes me blush.. His touch still makes my heart beat wildly.

The way he shows his love is intangible, it’s not pretentious or showy -not materialistic. Okay so I don’t get Hermes bags, rock-big diamond jewelries, or flashy cars as gifts for birthdays or anniversaries. But he puts Off lotion on me when there’s a mosquito in our room, careful not to wake me in my sleep. And wipes my brow with a cool washcloth when I’m having one of those night sweats brought on by peri-menopausal.

He gets up from his comfortable position from our bed to get me a glass of water to drink after I use my asthma spray, just so I don’t get cavities. He brings extra shirts for me even if we’re just going to a nearby mall because he knows I sweat a lot.. extra slippers in case my heels can’t carry my weight anymore. Not once has he laid even a finger on me out of anger. And best of all, he doesn’t stray even though my body is not the way it used to be, with added unwelcome layers on my chin & tummy. I’d rather take that anytime, anyday! 😉

This March, we will be celebrating our 25th year! Almost half of our love story has passed. We’ve both gotten older, our bones now rickety.. and yet I can’t imagine living the rest of my life without him. I have been so blessed. Just imagine, in a person’s lifetime, how many times (if ever) can one find her perfect soulmate? Some go through life seeking, but never finding. And yet here I am, blessed with my perfect guy. For all those 24 wonderful years. (awwwww…. Thank you God!)

So this Valentine’s day, I greet my Honey a Happy Love Day. With so much love & gratitude for the joy & love you have brought into my life. For our wonderful children. For our oh-so-happy life. I love you! ‘Til we’re old & gray.. and beyond. :-*

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I look forward to the second half of our love story Honey, and to our many future adventures. Together always! :-*