THIS coming March 14, my husband and I will celebrate our 10th wedding anniversary. Yes, it has been a while, but I am sure older couples will say we haven't been to half of where they are right now. Surely, we still have a long way to go (should we really decide to keep our promise of staying together until death do us part). However, staying married for ten years is something that I can really consider as a milestone. After all, keeping up with someone who can annoy you and turn the world upside down at times is definitely a feat that I can be proud of.
Looking back, I can say that our married life is not at all a walk in the park as they say. True to what most couples will say, marriage is like a rose. It has the flower which symbolizes the good and happy times, but it also has thorns that represent the heartaches and sacrifices that committed people experience as they uphold their vows to one another. We encountered some defeats, but I can say our small successes still outweigh the sad times. Being blessed with two adorable boys, our Christian mission is fulfilled. We vow to help our children become morally upright individuals as they grow up.
Staying happily married indeed is both a challenge and a commitment. When we received the Sacrament of Matrimony in front of our family and friends, we made a vow to be one in Christ. To stick with each other in sickness and in health, for richer or for poorer, and that death shall only be the reason for us to be apart from another. Marriage requires a higher level of emotional stability to be able to wither the storms that come as part of the relationship, not to mention the many responsibilities that are borne out of being parents to our children.
Despite the many hardships that we face as we journey as husband and wife, and also as parents, we have to remain committed to one another. It is easy to say that things are not the way they were supposed to be when we were younger and that our aging selves cannot cope with what our minds still want to do. We have to accept the fact that there are certain things that changed throughout the years, and that we simply cannot do everything that we were doing before.
This is where true love comes in. If we hold on to this to keep our marriage strong, then I know we surely can grow old, have grandkids, and have gray hair together. It's like choosing to love this person again and again. I know that I cannot simply live without my better half, come what may. We have been through a lot for the past nineteen years, and I do hope that he will always choose to love me too, again and again.