The Proposal

We've only been together for about 3 1/2 years total but it feels like we've been married for a long time. I love him more everyday and I thank God that through out my lifetime, I get to be called his wife.

I shared our story on how we met but I forgot about the proposal part. 8 months into dating, hubby proposed to me. He just got back from a deployment and we went home to visit his parents who were in town. It was few days after his birthday, we were talking about rings and what kind I like. We visited several jewelry stores to see what they have and what I might like and hopefully get an idea. I searched online endlessly to find the 'perfect ring' I wanted.

Back at his parents' place, his mom scheduled for family pictorial. We always do this every time we're on vacation and everyone's home. His parents are based in Taiwan because of his dad's job and they only fly back and forth to the States when they get a chance. After searching for the ring, I finally found the one I really liked and told hubby about it but still no clue as to when he was going to propose but knew it was coming :)

The day of our family pictorial, him and his dad went to check on a 'boat' his dad was planning to buy. When they came home, they were telling us stories about what kind of boat they liked. Then we went to get our pictures taken. Everything looked normal. Hubby excused himself and went to the rest room, he was there long enough for me to ask why he's been gone for awhile.  Our photo session begun. The photographer was taking pictures of his family with different poses. When it was our turn, the photographer told me to pose like I was hugging hubby with my left hand on top of my right on his chest. After that pose, she asked us to look at the pictures and hubby said, 'something is missing on that picture'. Still no clue on what he was talking about until I saw him on his knees opening a box with a ring inside asking nervously if I want to marry him,  while the photographer was busy capturing the moment and everyone was looking at us. I was speechless! All I was able to utter was, 'babe! no!' We were both in tears and I actually forgot my answer until I heard his family saying, is it a Yes? haha! I did say yes and we took the same pose we did the first time, now with a ring on my finger.

Everybody knew about the plan except me, they also connived with the photographer. Hubby went to the restroom not to tinkle but tried to calm his nerves down. The ring I liked was not the ring he picked, it was a solitaire ring like his mom's. I love it just the same!

17 days after the proposal, we got married. I only had a week to prepare after we got back from vacation to find my dress, have it altered and I was also working on top of that, talk about major stress! We pulled it through, we were married on a beautiful winter day in February, and that's how our happy- crazy-roller coaster ever after begun.

Love! :)

Until next time! Cheers!

The Story of Us

For one moment our lives met, our souls touched. This is our story. 

Three years ago on a hot summer day, a guy in white polo shirt, jeans and clean cut hair walked in the building where I was working.  I was outside my office and hanging out with my coworkers at the teller line when this guy stood in front of me, I didn't have a choice but to help him. He handed me a cheque to be cashed and since he was with another financial institution, all I could do was deposit it. While looking at the cheque, the payee was a girl's name so I told the guy that his wife needs to be with him in order for me to do a transaction, he laughed and told me it's his and it was his name. My bad, I forgot to check his ID. I laughed  because I've never met a guy with a girl's name, must be a Southern thing. When I went back to my office to fax his cheque, he asked me if I wanted to go out with him, just like that. I asked his number instead and told him if I'm interested, I will let him know. Before I left work that day, I sent him a message regarding his transaction and that was it. I didn't  mentioned anything about the dinner.

That was on a Wednesday. A lot of exchanged messages happened after that day and 2 days later, I met him for dinner at Chilis. I was fidgeting the whole time I could barely eat! I felt like a school girl with butterflies in my stomach.  We talked about a lot of things and at that moment i realized i liked him already! Who wouldn't be? He's nice, sweet, funny, cool, smells good and just handsome! :) I offered to pay for the dinner but he declined haha! We didn't hung out after because I was on my way to Memphis to spend the weekend with friends.

Things went great for a week after our first meeting. We met up again, watched our first movie together, 'Avatar'. But it wasn't all about my heart fluttering and feeling giddy all the time because after a week of talking, his messages had gotten less. I begun to think he wasn't really into me so I asked him what happened and he replied, ' I don't know if I want to be in a serious relationship right now, I want to spend time with my friends'. Part of me was disappointed and the only consolation was, I wasn't too attached just yet, I let him go. Told myself that if we're meant to be, he will come back.  It was hard not to think about what could have been but it was a risk I took when I allowed myself to get involved. 

Another week had passed and I was already back to normal when I received a message from him asking if we could start again where we left off. He said he just needed to go away to think because he was scared. I didn't know what to say at first but after thinking about it, I agreed to give him another chance. When he came back from visiting his family and after driving 12 hours, I was all excited to see him at the parking lot outside my apartment. He was still as handsome as he could be with a little tan! :))

Life with him involved tears, loneliness, longingness  because of deployments to Afghanistan but by the time he was up for a year tour in Korea, we decided to get married after 8 months of seeing each other and then he left for his tour few months later.  Our relationship was 80% Skype, I sleep, I eat, I clean, I hang out with him with my laptop on. We celebrated birthdays, Thanksgiving and Christmas apart, and all I  can wish was he was home with me. Through it all, we managed to keep our marriage stronger, happier,  full of love and I wouldn't change it any other way.

We were reunited last year and been living a  fulfilled married life. He hasn't been deployed or went TDY (temporary duty assignment) just yet. 


Every love story is beautiful but ours is my favorite.





Until next time. Cheers! 

Tribute to Military Wives

This is to you, the one who married the uniformed man. To you, the one who stands beside him. You, the one with whom he links arms, but not hands, because, of course, intertwined fingers aren’t authorized while in uniform.

This is to you, the one who planned your wedding alone while he was across the globe. To you, the girl who met him at the airport and drove straight to the rehearsal. To you, who spent one week with your new husband before he boarded a plane and flew away for the first six months of your marriage.

This is to you, the one who plans your career around being transient, knowing you won’t stay anywhere long. To you, the one whose resume is a mile long, but not because you can’t hold a job. You, the one who works at the bank, the salon, the retailer, the clinic, the studio, logging long hours to supplement military earnings.

This is to you, the base housing goddess. The one who reuses curtains, rearranges furniture, and transfers the pictures from one faded white wall to another. The one who hopes for an address in the good neighborhood, prays for quiet neighbors and crosses your fingers for appliances constructed during your lifetime.

This is to you, the off-base dweller. The one who dreams of paying a mortgage instead of rent. The one who forms community with people who don’t always understand the demands on your life, people who have family nearby, people who don’t plan to move away in three years. You, the one who ensures the military clause in your lease, ever prepared to break the contract if you’re ordered to move in less than a month.

This is to you, the one who hasn’t been home in two years, because your parents are thirty hours away and plane tickets are expensive. To you, the one who sends photos and plans Skype dates when new babies are born. You, the one who spends Thanksgiving with friends you’ve met at church.

This is to you, military wife, the one who delivers a baby without him. The one who calls your friends to drive you to the hospital, to hold your legs while you push. This is to you, the one who talks to him on the phone, tears staining your smile as you describe to him his newborn’s face.

This is to you, for when you felt yourself slipping, darkness pressing close, and everyone told you to buck up, told you it was just stress. To you, the one who heard that weakness is failure and that admitting it would harm his mission. To you, for when you went to the clinic doctor anyway and were strong enough to ask for help.

This is to you, the one who stands in the dining room, wiping the table with a rag the night he comes home and announces he has orders. To you, whose heart drops to your feet as your eyes lock with his. To you, the one who breathes in sharply, who feels your throat tighten. You, the one who wipes tears and stands taller and feels ill and immediately begins to compose a mental checklist.

This is to you, the one who wakes at 3am and bundles the little ones in blankets. To you, the one who drives him to an empty blackened parking lot. You, the one who waits in the cold while he loads his sea bags, gathers his weapons.

This is to you, the one who clings to his neck, who kisses his lips, who waves your hand high while he drives away on a full white bus.

This is to you, the one who waits for a call, who keeps your cell phone glued to your hand. To you, the one who checks the mailbox incessantly and refreshes your inbox ten times an hour. You, the one who quells the ever present pit in your stomach and refuses to listen to the news. 

This is to you, the one who holds your little ones when they don’t understand. The one who explains why Daddy is gone again, or why he’s working so late each night, or why it’s time to say goodbye to their friends yet again. This is to you, the one who steels yourself, for them, when your own heart breaks.

This is to you, the one who maintains the routine, who moves through the days, who sits in the quiet of the evenings. To you, the one who pays the bills, mows the lawn and takes the car for its tune up. You, the one who falls asleep on the couch, who tries to fill the bed by sleeping diagonally.

This is to you, brave military wife, the one who counts the days and then the hours and then the minutes until he returns.

And then he does.

This is to you.

This is to you, the one who makes it to ten years, and then to fifteen, and then to two or three decades. To you, the one who thought he’d be out by now. To you, the one who remains as he reenlists, as he pins on rank, as he earns medals. You, the one who holds him close, knowing he’s yours, but sharing him every day.

This is to you, Air Force wives, Army wives, Navy wives, Marine wives, Coast Guard wives. I raise my glass to you, the brave and proud ones, strong and valiant ones, veterans in your own right.

This is to you.

This is to us.

                                                                                                           ~~Credit to Ashleigh Baker~~

Until next time. Cheers!