Getting Old Together…

It’s 5o years later…I’m 8o and my husband is 77.

We have wrinkles in our faces and we both suffer from rheumatism and probably diabetes and hypertension.

I had my glasses on while he holds his cane to aid him for walking.

But the good news is, despite lupus….we are still together.

We celebrated our 3^rd church wedding anniversary recently and this is what I imagined for both of us after 5o years.

Getting old together.

Still holding hands in our old days and talking about every moments that we shared.

Moments; its importance to my life exceeds that of material things and wealth.

I’d rather have a million moments with my husband and my family than having a million bucks without them.

That’s one of the reasons why I keep old photographs.

I want to remember every smile, every tears, and every frown that are captured in photos. These memories I want to keep forever.

As we continue our journey, I want to capture all the memories that we have so that when it’s time to part ways we will still be together.

Still holding hands, still sharing passionate kisses, still sharing life.

True Love and Lupus..

“In sickness and in health, till death do us part…”

I never imagine this cliché would mean so much to me. I often hear this line during weddings and did not take it too seriously. Its significance evades me until I encountered true love….

and then lupus…

Love comes in different ways, it’s true, and it really surprises me when it hit me!

Life then was purely for fun and enjoyment. Marriage and true love belongs to the older generation. Relationships do not last long; love was so evasive I stopped trying to find it.

Until it found me.

It all started by just a simple song from Southborder and a special dance shared in Expats. Texting was then a hit that we exchanged mobile numbers and become textmates…

It took two years before we met again personally and started an intimate relationship. And it took another 2 years before we tied the knot in marriage.

Those two years of togetherness was not easy.

But the challenges made us stronger.. one of them is lupus. especially lupus.

Lupus is a chronic disease that is found to be genetic. It means it is a lifetime disease and is hereditary. Unfortunately for Eed, he inherited the disease.

He was diagnosed to have lupus before we got married in 2oo6.

It was a very trying time for him, he just got back from Singapore and he was sick all the time. His hair is falling and he loses weight. He never thought it is serious until the result of his medical examination in Cebu shows that indeed he has lupus..

I felt numbed when I heard the result, fear engulfs me. I am afraid for him but even more afraid for me. I thought the worst.

I thought he was dying…

He thought he was dying too.

Because of it, he distanced himself and tried to push me away. Because of his illness, our future together became so bleak.

But true love endured.

The love that we shared overcomes the fear.

Lupus made us realize that time is very precious. We decided to have a life together despite it and share every moment that we could have.

Despite lupus, we are still together.

Today, May 26, 2o1o, we will be celebrating our 3^rd church wedding anniversary with gratitude in our hearts.

With passionate prayers we will forever be grateful for the chance of being together..

And we are still counting for more years of togetherness.

Cheers!