A Great 10 Years With You

** 10 years of marriage + 5 years of dating and a few months getting to know each other **


Well, it has been 10 years since we said “I Do” and a lot of things has passed as we go through our marriage journey. It sure has a lot of good things and not-so-very good things in between. Some sad things happened along the way, with more happier moments. Sure thing, marriage is not like a walk-in-a-park. It really takes two to tango.

However I’d like to share a few things I’m grateful for on this 10-year journey with hubbie:

1. Hendi, my hubbie, of course. In times, I’ve learned a lot about Acceptance, that is accepting & love the imperfections of the person I chosed to spend the rest of my life with. Hey, I’m not perfect, either. Despite his imperfections , I can’t name anybody better for me, than him.

2. Our children. Three beautiful children: Darrent, Aubrey, and Denzel. Yes, they are handfulls at times, but overall we manage.

3. My mother-in-law. I think she’s the best Mom-in-law that anybody could ever ask for. I know in a lot of cases, mom-in-law & dauhgter-in-law do not get along very well. But in our situation, we manage to get along just fine. I think, respect & understanding, both ways, really plays a big role in this part, especially when we’re living together under one roof. And also knows your boundary. I don’t have a hard time on this matter. I consider myself as lucky on this Mom-in-law department ;)

4. Our new house. Yes, we’re finally finished up getting our house built. I guess it’s just a matter of time that we finally settled. On our early years of marriage, I’ve been wondering, if we, ever, get to have our own place to live, or are we going to stay in his parents house forever. At the time, having our own place looked so far beyond our reach. But then looking back, things were falling into their places, or not, and before I knew it, we moved into the new house.

5. His business. It had always been his dream to have his own company. I could tell early on, even when we were just started college, that he pretty much knows what he wants. I mean, he’s a little beyond his age in looking into the future. Bottom line, his business is growing, and it is my duty as his wife to support him from the back. Having his own business, however, do comes with drawbacks. From late-night meetings, to weekend work, he has to sacrifice his time with family in order to maintain & build-up his business. I really appreciate what he does for us, eventhough I mad at him at times when he comes home late at night & has to work on weekends. So a lot of times, I just suck up my sadness & take the kids out to the Mall.

6. Moving back to Indonesia in 2004. Even though at the time, it wasn’t very clear of what we were going to do here after we came back from the US. Since then, Indonesia is home for us, again. And here we are, in Indonesia, we are growing into a family.

7. My parents. Of course I have not forgot about them. They are the very support system I can always rely-on to.

8. Our 10th year anniversary get-away, or so we call it “second honeymoon” to Bali. I believe that marriage also needs nourishment. It doesn’t grow by itself. As time pass, we also grow. Just make sure that we don’t grow apart. Lately, we’ve been so busy with work, daily routines, the kids and their school and moving-in to a new house. I saw this as a perfect moment to take a break, sit back, and reflect on our journey on the last 10 years together, also the last but not least, to keep the fires up between us ;)

I’m just so grateful that I’ve been blessed with somebody that I can call my lifelong partner, my best friend, my buddy, my other-half, and my partner-in-crime for life that God gave me for the last 10 years and looking forward for many more years to come.

Happy 10th Anniversary, Hon! Love you even more.

FootNotes:
We were actually got married on November 15, 2002 in the United States. Then, after we came back to Indonesia for good, we got married (again) in a Catholic church and received the Holy Matrimony sacrament. And as for our parents request, we also had the wedding reception held on November 21, 2004.     Mark 12:28-34 "Therefore what God has joined together, let man not separate."