Gratitude and Marriage
As of today, H and I have been married for two and a half years. How apt that it’s Thanksgiving too! And so for this entry, I’ll combine both celebrations and write my marriage gratitude list. So here are 10 things I am thankful for:
Waking up to H’s laughter. He gets up earlier than I do and usually watches TV while waiting for me to wake up. Sometimes I pretend I’m still asleep so I could just keep listening to him laughing. It’s a good start to my day.
Having his hand to hold always. While driving, walking, eating, watching TV at home, watching movies, shopping, sleeping, our fingers are intertwined always. I still get “kilig” moments when holding hands.
Seeing my toothbrush ready when I enter the bathroom. After breakfast, after dinner, he never fails to surprise me with these sweet little things that save me time and remind me that he thinks of me even in the simplest of things.
Fighting over the remote control. Weird but yes, I’m glad we fight over the remote. At least now I have a better appreciation of Wrestling and he now has a better appreciation of Oprah. I’ve also gotten used to watching action flicks while he’s gotten used to watching makeover shows. We continue to learn from each other that way.
Not losing that childlike wonder. “Let’s do something crazy, Wifey!” is what he’d always say. So we’d hop on the train and tour Cubao for kicks. Or we’d try a new dance game in Timezone even if we know we’d look silly. Or we’d throw punches at each other. Life shouldn’t be taken seriously all the time!
Teaming up in the kitchen. While I cook more often than he does, he always offers a helping hand. While I do the cooking, he does the chopping of ingredients. And vice versa. We also know that in our relationship, he’s the Pork Chops and Sauteed Beansprouts expert. I’m the Adobo and Sauteed Pechay expert. Hehehe.
Respecting each other’s quiet time. He watches TV for quiet time, I read magazines and books. Though we do this cuddled up against each other on the couch, we know when to let each other be and when to point something out from TV or the magazine.
Indulging each other’s swooning. While we are each other’s biggest crushes (haha!), we still swoon over cute celebrities (Tom Welling for me! Kristine Kreuk for him!) and some non-celebrities. We make fun of each other’s crushes and just let the other be with that swooning. Hanggang crush lang naman eh!
Entertaining each other’s quirks. I don’t think I can ever act out Chicken Little’s various dances in front of anyone else. I don’t think he can play around with his Star Wars toys in front of anyone else either. We have our silly and quirky moments. Those are the funny things that make our marriage extra special.
Giving each other long hugs before going to work. I see him off to work and we still find it hard to part in the mornings. I remember our first kiss as husband and wife. After that “you may kiss the bride” thing, we kissed and then we hugged for a long time. That was more special to me than the kiss! We still hug a lot. We’re a hugging couple.
Two and a half years of a wonderful marriage. Happy Anniversary, Husby Wusby! 
I love you!
P.S. What are YOU thankful for today?
November 24th, 2005 at 9:05 pm
congratulations. i am so glad to read how you treat each other as husbands and wife..i guess that is a key to strong relationship……….being together but still knowing your differences and uniqueness……
November 24th, 2005 at 9:08 pm
roy: Thank you roy! Yes, key to building a relationship is helping each other out, making each other a better person yet still accepting the other for who he/she is!
November 24th, 2005 at 10:07 pm
hi toni! great post!
i’m thankful everyday to God for keeping my family healthy and strong! as they say “health is wealth’.
have a great weekend!
November 24th, 2005 at 10:34 pm
Cute pictures Toni! Happy Thanksgiving
and may you always keep that love and
childlike wonder alive!
November 24th, 2005 at 11:20 pm
JO: Yes! Our good health is something we should be thankful for everyday. Happy weekend!
Claire: Happy Thanksgiving dear friend!
Wishing you and O lots of love and childlike wonder!
November 24th, 2005 at 11:22 pm
does that mean we have the same wedding anniv, toni? our’s is 24th also, but hubby doesn’t want to celebrate our’s w/ thanksgiving. so we had our little celebration, night of 23rd.
your entry makes me giggle and teary… i like what you said about sweet little things that surprises you - it makes me more in-love and overwhelmed whenever my hubs does it
happy anniversary toni, and happy thanksgiving too!
November 24th, 2005 at 11:26 pm
Day: Oh my! It’s great to hear from you! How’s your hubby and baby? My wedding anniversary is on May 24. Is yours on that same day too?
And yes, it’s the little things that make a huge difference in a marriage. We’re lucky to have such sweet hubbies! Thanks for the greeting and happy thanksgiving!
November 25th, 2005 at 6:50 am
thankful that you shared this with us….
and thankful that life is sweet
and thankful i didnt mess up my first attempt of biko find it at
http://www.wanderlustsha.com
PS cute naman ninyo.. totoo yan quite moment talag
November 25th, 2005 at 8:55 am
Congratulations Toni!
November 25th, 2005 at 9:18 am
this is so kilig!
funny, i posted a sort of thank you thingy for my best friend jacqs today.
enjoy your long weekend, toni!:)
November 25th, 2005 at 12:54 pm
hi toni!!!this is soooo sweet!!!!
happy tnxgiving! both of you are so blessed to have each other..
nakangiti pa rin ako after reading ur post!:)
November 25th, 2005 at 2:37 pm
sha : New home! Will visit you there.
Alma : Thank you!
jey : Swak na swak sa okasyon!
dang : I’m sure nakaka-relate ka. Sweet din hubs mo diba?
November 25th, 2005 at 2:57 pm
Hi Tones. Ang sweet nyo. Napapangiti tuloy ako kasi, aside from having the same date, same year wedding, parehas din ang pag treat ng ating mga husby sa atin at pag treat natin sa kanila. As you said, marriage is a never ending slumber party and I agree to that. So exciting di bah. We’re so blessed of having such great husband.
Happy weekend.
Happy thanksgiving
And cheers to us.
November 25th, 2005 at 3:00 pm
jeanny: Happy anniversary, happy thanksgiving and yes, cheers to our marriage! May 24 , 2003 was truly a blessed day.
November 25th, 2005 at 5:38 pm
aaaww, that’s really sweet. happy anniversary and a half to you and master.:)
November 25th, 2005 at 7:10 pm
im thankful for this post for reminding all of us that love is all around us and in the simplest moments and simplest joys….may your tribe increase!
November 25th, 2005 at 7:13 pm
diane: Thanks sis. Red Box na tayo!
Junnie: Yes! May our tribe increase! Thanks for the beautiful words.
November 25th, 2005 at 9:45 pm
Has it already been two and a half years??? Wow, ang bilis ng panahon!!!!!
Happy monsiversary!!!! 
November 26th, 2005 at 6:46 am
toni! super post, this. great timing and great times indeed. congrats on the second and the many many more years up ahead for you and the hubby. *kilig*
November 26th, 2005 at 7:27 am
fighting over the remote control..haha sweet niyo!
i’m thankful for the blessings that we received the past month and for the continuous blessings over our family.
November 26th, 2005 at 3:27 pm
hi toni! as always late na naman ako for greetings! anyways, balated happy anniversary to you guys … lovely couple… may you have more blessings, happiness, good health and wealth in the days ahead. stay sweet and in-love with each other….always, all the time, round-the-clock….
all the best!!!
November 26th, 2005 at 7:40 pm
Rowie : Bilis no?! Soon enough we’ll be celebrating YOUR 2nd year wedding anniversary…
Happy Thanksgiving!
bambit : Thank you thank you!
husticia : Hehehe marami-raming tampuhan na rin narating ng pag-aaway over the remote! And your family is very blessed justice girl!
aleth : Ok lang kung late
Salamat!
November 26th, 2005 at 11:24 pm
belated happy anniversary. you have a lovely marriage, awwwwwwwww. fighting over the remote is such a notorious thing among married peeps..lol. many many many more years to come. CHEERS :).
November 27th, 2005 at 3:42 am
Kakainggit, pero kakaKILIG!
At least I’m very happy that all the stress and running around during your wedding day was all worth it. I’m glad you’re happier than ever. You’re a great team and complement each other so well. Alagaan niyo ito. Love you both! *mwah*
November 27th, 2005 at 2:28 pm
Great to hear from people who are happy!
Sounds so sweet and romantic!
Keep it like that !
Congrats!
November 28th, 2005 at 2:34 am
awwwwwwww…. so sweeeeeeeet! You’re getting me more excited to get married! And it’s torture to be away from him. gosh..
Congrats Toni! hehehe! I love reading posts like this.. hehehe.. You guys are so uber sweet! God Bless you both!
November 28th, 2005 at 10:50 am
dexie : Hahaha notorious ba? Oo nga ugat ng away yan pero you learn to share more hehee. Thanks for the greeting!
Ate Bam: Thank YOU!!! *hugs*
Sidney : We will. Thanks!
tanya : I’m excited for you sis! Married life is fun. Hard but fun! As long as you’ve got each other, everything will be just fine.
November 28th, 2005 at 10:21 pm
Happy anniversary! May the Lord shower your union with much more blessings!
November 29th, 2005 at 10:20 am
Linnor: Thank you Marikit sis!
December 12th, 2005 at 9:52 am
awwww… ang sweet! really nice post! made me think of things to be thankful for too in my almost 2 yrs of married life… and ang dami! kakatuwa, little things to be thankful for
December 15th, 2005 at 8:55 pm
I found this post quite inspiring and have resolved to be more thoughtful as a result! I really don’t do enough of these little things.
Still, I do think culture comes into this. For example, I had some friends (British guy, like me, and Pinay). She expected him to do a lot of “looking after” things but his attitude was, you can reach for that, you get it. Well, they’re divorced now.
I’ll be honest, a lot of Filipino relationships–and not just romantic ones–seem to me to be built on a form of dependency. This is a bit hard to take from my culture, where most men value independence (emotional and financial) in their female partners. Generally men aren’t looking for someone to “look after”.
Still, “submitting yourself” and “being submitted to” lie at the heart of any relationship, so they all contain a degree of dependence. What your post taught me is a bit of what my partner may be looking for (which was in front of my nose all along).
Great blog, by the way.