Our Love Expressed with Songs

(my 22nd monthsary gift to my honey)
Let me start off by saying I promised myself, no posts on wedding preps update until November so… looking for something to post about, I went blog hopping and saw saw Jenn’s post about her and Tab’s love story… it kinda got me started on posting our love story as well…

Before we even get to the story, let’s start from when I didn’t even know of Charlie’s existence so the readers would know where I’m coming from…. by the way I titled each “chapter” of this kwento with a song title quite apt for it:

Didn’t Know I Was Looking for Love
I have always been what people would say as a “late bloomer”. In high school, when all my friends and classmates would be talking about boys, I was always the odd one out. Mind you, I had my share of crushes and admirers but at that time, it wasn’t my “priority”. So when finally I had my first boyfriend right before I graduated from high school, I thought it would all be about sweetness and “kilig moments” (I was an avid reader of Sweet Dreams; Sweet Valley High and other Romance pocket books at that time). But I was promptly disillusioned when my idea of having a sweet, romantic relationship turned out to be too dreamy for real life…. After that short (it only lasted for three weeks), tragic relationship I became “hungry” for a new one… I told myself that my next relationship would last longer and would be more “mature”. So when my best friend of three years declared that he has fallen in love with me, I readily agreed to go steady with him. Needless to say, that didn’t work either. This time, “we” just lasted for two months. Mind you, I am not blaming these guys for the failed relationships… I guess I was just too idealistic or too immature to handle whatever these guys were offering. Anyhow, my next boyfriend came much later. By this time, I was thinking “hmmm… this is going to work” because I was more “level-headed” and my view on life wasn’t seen through rose-colored glasses anymore. It lasted long enough… long enough for me to realize that even the best of intentions could turn sour when people with evil minds interfere! After the three year relationship with an incredibly sensitive and thoughtful guy ended I was starting to lose all hopes of ever finding “the right one”. I guess it was a blessing in disguise na din because it strengthened my faith in God… It brought me back to the church, and taught me to really lift everything up to the Lord…

Lose Your Way
Trials came and went… There were still a couple of suitors but I can’t seem to trust myself to enter yet another relationship with such high hopes and then be let down again… I was just too tired of trying… I wanted stability… I wanted security… but all these came second to Faith… I wanted someone I could trust and pray with… and so I prayed… I prayed for guidance… I prayed for strength… I prayed for patience… I prayed for a sign… I sort of made a pact with the Lord. It was that if by the time I turn 30 and I still don’t have a boyfriend, it means that I was meant for spinsterhood. That it was God’s way of saying I was one of those women who will be happy with taking care of her nieces and nephews and is better off. But… If and when I will have a boyfriend before I turn 30, I would know that I should say yes when he asks me to marry him only if he would turn out to be somebody I could pray with. No, not just ordinary going to church together or belonging to the same religion but really pray together in the true sense of the word.

To Be Loved
Then came Charlie….

Love Moves In Mysterious Ways
He came into my life when I needed a friend the most…

The year was 2003, the venue… THE NET! Yes, the internet… I was checking my mail and browsing through the Banana Republic site when… came an instant message containing a new ID I have never seen before… the message was… “Hi! Ganda ng smile mo…” and when I still did not reply he sent another message saying “Can we be friends?” Ok, ok… so it wasn’t original nor attention grabbing or anything but I was bored so I said “where did you see me? how did you know I have a nice smile?” and then he went on to explain that he saw my picture in my Yahoo! profile (no folks! it’s not there anymore!) and thought my smile looked really friendly. And so it went… we chatted for not more than thirty minutes but somehow, we became at ease with one another, we chatted almost on a regular basis after that… talking about nothing in particular, never mentioning anything about ever meeting in person. Later on, (about 4 months after that first IM) we graduated to phone conversations… He became my confidante. You know the saying “it’s easier to open your mind and emotions to strangers”? I guess that proved to be true for me because I could talk to him about anything… as in anything at all! My sentiments about work, family and failed relationships… my hopes and dreams… my near-boo boo with a married man (don’t ask! suffice it to say that I came to my senses way before the point of no return!)… my faith… my plans… my rules… and he did the same… we shared anything and everything under the sun! From day to day experiences to our most embarrassing moments! We were phone pals for another four months before it finally came… the request for an EB! I hesitated (who wouldn’t?!)… I mean, it’s ok to pour your heart out to a complete stranger over the phone but to actually meet in person is a totally different thing! So after days of convincing and reassuring we agreed to meet… no buddy system, just us (don’t worry I insisted on a well populated venue)… and the rest is history…

Swept Away
It went like a whirlwind romance… the kind you read in pocket books… only this time I was not wishing for one anymore… At first, I thought it was just a matter of him being in the right place at the right time (he was lucky) but then he became my savior, my knight in shining armor, my friend, my shock-absorber, my adviser, my source of strength, my teacher, my alter-ego and most of all… he gave me true love when I thought I would never be able to experience it… Love that doesn’t discriminate nor judge. Love that is genuine and pure. Love that is kind and generous without waiting for reciprocation. Love that is blessed by our strong faith in the Lord and the fact that he makes all things beautiful. Proof? He gave us each other, didn’t He?

Feels Like Home
When I asked Charlie when and how he knew he loved me he said “Ipinagdasal kita… Nagdasal ako noon na mahanap ko ang babaeng makakasama ko habang buhay, ng babaeng mamahalin…” and just when I thought I was going to cry from sheer happiness he continued “Binigay ka niya sa akin, kaya alam ko, walang duda… Mahal kita noon pang una mong sinabing sa simbahan tayo magkita”