A Letter to my J on our Anniversary

My Love,

The midnight of our anniversary, I planned on making a photo montage of the last 15 years but at 3am I decided to scrap the idea because I’m a noob at Mac and iMovie isn’t very kind to a first-timer like me. So now, just like the Ikea delivery that didn’t arrive, I am switching to plan B :) I will have to do with what I think I’m best at… WORDS :)

I will always start our story with that fateful SMS I still so clearly remember. Who would have thought that a simple “H0n?” will lead to my happily ever after? Thanks, babe, for taking a chance to send that message. I knew at the time that it wasn’t only meant for me, but who cares, really? What matters now is that you and I were meant to be and we’ve had the past 15 years of our lives to prove that.

They say falling in love is easy, staying in love is the hard part. But they’re wrong, even staying in love with you is a walk in the park. It's almost effortless because every day you give me reasons to love you more and more. In fact, I could think of a hundred of them, but to celebrate our 15th year, here’s the top 15 :)

1. You always smell good. I thought, maybe I’ll start with the little things. Do you know that my first impression of you was “Oooohhh, ambango nya!” and that first impression indeed lasted! Until now, whenever you hold me close to you, I feel like the 17-year old Em all over again. I mean, who doesn’t want a great smelling hubby to hug them every night? You always make me want to sniff you all over! ;P

2. You have an awesome taste in music. We had a videoke sesh with my friends one night in 2012 and that was the first time you sang “Wherever You Will Go” for me. It was only then that I realized how perfect it was for you, for us. Indeed, you dropped everything you had in the Philippines to start a life with me here. I still get kilig whenever you sing that! You are also my source for the best Spotify playlists! The songs you play either make me dance, keep me awake or make me think about us and fall for you even more.

3. You are my Mr. Fix-It. Be it broken gadgets, kitchen tools, Maddie’s toys, DIY furniture — you always have a way to fix things. You even fixed my broken heart, Charrrr!!! But kidding aside, thank you for always making things alright. 

4. You are my very own Uber driver. Whenever we are in PH, you always drive me around. Well, you don’t have much choice, really :D Do you remember last Feb when we had to drive some 11kms in the wee hours of the night just so I can buy flour for Maddie’s birthday cupcakes the next day? You were sleepy and tired, but you drove me anyway. Traffic in Manila is hell but you don’t mind as long as you are sure that we get to our destination safe and in one piece. 

5. You are full of surprises. They say that when you’ve been together too long, you become too comfortable in each other and you stop putting in extra effort. This isn’t true for you. Even after 15 years, you still surprise me a lot! Last week, you let me “Add to Cart” away at the Ikea site, all on you! For our Anniversary, I thought you’ll pass on the bouquet but alas, you came out of the room holding a pretty bunch of 15 tulips (my favorite), one for each year together. Just yesterday, you came home with French Fries and Mocha Frappe from McDonalds which were perfect right after a nerve wracking meeting at work. It’s these things, babe, that make me realize true love doesn’t grow old. It only gets better :)

6. You share the load. Let’s face it, I’m not the most domesticated wife there is and maybe God knows that so he gave me you! Haha! You are one in a million, hon, because you don’t mind helping out with chores. In fact you mostly do all of them! Thank you for cooking my favorite Sinigang and Daing na Bangus even though you’re tired from work, for washing a mountain of dishes right after I bake, for making sure the house is spic and span for me and Maddie, for emptying the laundry hamper week after week, for ironing your clothes because it’s my least favorite thing to do. I could go on and on babe, but the bottom line is I am blessed to be sharing this life with you because you happily do your part around the house.

7. You work hard. I will always remember the day your very first SPass got approved. It was in 2014. I lost my job and effectively you also lost your Dependant Pass. So your company got you your own work pass. That Saturday, we were both lying in bed waiting for the result, praying for the best while also expecting the worst. You quietly checked the MOM site and much to our surprise, they granted you the pass. I cried tears of joy and then we hugged so tight and thanked God for the opportunity to stay here and work for our dreams. You’ve come a long way from the humble logistics officer that you were, to the purchasing manager that you are now. Everybody trusts your work and know that even if I always raise my brows whenever you check mails after office hours, I am so proud of you love and everything that you do.

8. You support me in my passions. You always tag along when I go to the baking store and you eat everything that comes out of my oven (even though they’re burnt sometimes!) You have been and will always be the number one fan of my blog. Even though I only have like 10 readers, you still push me to write because you know that it makes me happy and I so genuinely love you for that.

9. You are generous to the core. You always try to give me everything to the point that sometimes you don’t leave some for yourself. Just recently, you received an (unexpected) incentive at work but the first thing you did was to ask me what I want even though you just got me an expensive anniversary gift. You know babe, I appreciate the gesture, I really do. But the truth is, I don’t need a lot of gifts. Having you and Maddie in my life is more than enough.

10. Your love for me is bigger than your ego. You always say sorry after a fight, even though it’s my fault sometimes. For you, it doesn’t matter who’s wrong or right, you just know that what we have is more important than that.

11. You are faithful. To me and to The One who gave you to me. Nuff said.

12. You love my family. I will always consider myself lucky because I found a man who loves and cares for my family as much as I do. Thank you babe, my family isn’t perfect but you have embraced them and treated them as your own. I know Dad is happy in heaven because her ladies got you. 

13. You know me so well. I will never forget the day we were contemplating on buying my Mac and I kept saying no even though deep down, I want it so badly (dang, I’ve been eyeing it for 8 years!) You looked me in the eye and told me “Babe, 15 years. Kilala kita. Mas kilala pa nga kita kesa sa sarili mo eh” and that brought me to tears. It’s an overwhelming feeling to have someone who sees right through you. Someone who knows what you think and how you feel without you having to say a word.

14. You are the perfect Daddy to our Maddie. Everytime I see you and Maddie together, my heart just melts. When I met you 15 years back I never have imagined you will make a good father but the very first day we had her, you’ve already proven me wrong. You are a natural. Maddie is at her happiest with you and even if I get jealous sometimes, I will always be grateful that you are the man I chose to be the father of my child.  

15. You love me for me. You love the stubborn, lazy, hard-headed me. You have seen the bossy, impatient, fault-finding me. You love the 200-pound me and still calls me sexy. You have seen me bite my nails when I’m stressed, drool in my sleep, sweat like crazy, fart like I haven’t pooped in days. You have seen the worst of me and you love me anyway. With you I don’t have to hide or pretend to be someone else because you embrace me and all my imperfections. You loved me unconditionally, every day of the last 15 years and I know that no one else will love me more than you do. So, thank you, honey. I may not be able to top that, but I will spend every waking moment trying to come close.

I love you and Maddie with all that I am.

Happy 7th and 15th Anniversary, my love. Praying for many, many years more.

Always,

M