Anniversary on the horizon

I've decided to chuck my irreverent list of pet peeves for this entry and indulged instead on a more forthcoming subject.

My first wedding anniversary.

This Sunday marks our first wedding anniversary and heralds another chapter of exciting and impetuous times ahead.

The year has its share of ups and downs, laughters and cries, silences and uproars.

I would be remiss if I did not admit that living with my partner has taught me some things about life. It has also aspired me to be a better person, for my sake and his sake.

Like any normal conjugal bonds, there was a period of adjustments to the other person's way of thinking, living condition and other surprising habits. And of course, with any formidable partnerships come the compromises and sacrifices.

My love story was one of friendship turning into love.

Pre-marriage, I often wonder if I had missed anything not experiencing the so-called wooing stage like those people going on awkward first few dates or those followers and proponents of the 'love-at-first-sight movement'.

Then, I got hitched and understood the kindness and caring that dovetail with love. It was like experiencing a wooing period for the first time.

My husband was quite reserved and 'practical' with his display of affection before we were married. It was a nice 360 degrees surprise after we tied the knot.

For this, I find myself grateful for the attention and fondness he bestowed on me.

However, it wasn't that smooth a sailing during the adaptive first-year period.

There were things that I didn't agree with that had caused heartaches and headaches to us both.

My husband's relenting and assenting to my views prompted me to realign and adjust my rather intractable stance.

It was however an adjustment on quite a scanty scale. I know I'm quite a slow learner. Or as my husband said it best, 'My learning curve is on the inverse."

His patience to my uncompromising and at times childish nature was at first unnerving and thereafter soothing.

I was grateful to this person whom I had called a friend first.

Our long and bittersweet history together has made us who we are today. We have come to understand what makes us tick, weep and tick off.

Despite the distance and time that had separated us in the interim to the wedding date, we have grown to love one another even more. Absence does make the heart grow fonder!

A firm believer in soul mates, I had this keen intution that I found mine the moment I met my husband in 1992. You could say that was my own 'brand' of love-at-first-sight.

Though it took some time to come to where we stand today, it was a worthwhile journey (albeit the emotional barbwires and boobytraps along the way).

What doesn't break us, makes us even stronger.

On this beautiful day we'd become husband and wife, thanks my love for the cherished and idyllic times that we've spent.