The last working day of the week was exhausting. I observed three training classes and attended three calibration sessions, and then battled through traffic on my way home. I finally reached my house at past midnight, and I immediately sent Honey and my parents a text message telling them that I was home.
After a few minutes, I got a text message from Hon saying, "Hon, nagtext si Jo, said he wants to talk to us tomorrow. He'll text you soon."
I got worried so I texted Jo first; he immediately replied saying he was very troubled and that he wanted our (Kelvin's and mine) advice. He said that he wanted to talk and that if Kelvin and I could go to his house at 8 in the morning. One of his texts said, "Sensya na tlga, really lost and I need advice n tlga eh. :( see ya tom."
I even offered to go to his place that same night if he needed to talk to us that badly; but he said he was still at work so a meeting the next morning would have to do.
That got me thinking. Si Kelvin at si Jo gigising ng maaga on a Saturday morning?! Si Jo, na super impulsive, would plan a meeting to discuss his problems? And knowing Jo and Kel, if Kel knew Jo had a problem, he would drop whatever it is, and go to Jo. I suddenly remembered our first monthsarry, on December 21, 2006, when he connived with Jo and they both managed to surprise me.
And then I thought, "Ah, 85th monthsarry namin ni Kel bukas, baka naman may surprise para sa monthsarry namin. Or baka naman problemado lang talaga si Jo." Nevertheless, I sent Hon a message saying we should be at Jo's place at 8:30AM the next day. And with that thought, I fell asleep.
December 21, 2013
I was awakened to the caterwauling of what was a phone call. I looked at the time and it was 7:18am; and it was Kelvin calling. I groggily answered his call, "Hello, by?"
"Baby, open the door. I'm here na!", was his greeting.
I realized I overslept and he was there to pick me up so we could go to Jo's house together. So I got out of bed, hastily pulled my hair up in a messy bun, sleepily walked down the stairs and out the front door to the gate. When I got there, I saw Kelvin standing at the gate holding a bouquet of roses.
This picture was taken about two hours after he proposed.
"Whoa!" was my pleasantly surprised morning greeting to the man standing at the gate with the roses. You see, it has been years since he last gave me roses.
I unlocked the gate to let him in, and he gave me a big morning hug while saying, "Happy monthsarry, hon."
"Happy monthsarry, honey. Come inside the house. Ang aga ng gising mo ah! Can I bring my flowers to Jo's house?"
"Sure, baby." was his response.
"Mag-ready ka na, Ny, para makapunta na tayo kina Jo." was his request when we got inside the house.
"Yes, maliligo lang ako.", was my answer while looking down at my flowers. I was so happy I got flowers from Hon!
I noticed Hon suddenly became quiet. When I looked up to ask him what was wrong, I saw him taking something out from his pocket and he was struggling to open it. (A few hours later, he told he was having trouble opening the ring box, turns out he was opening it the wrong way. Haha!)
After a few seconds, he extended his hand and showed me what he was holding. It was a beautiful, sparkling diamond ring, sitting in a satin bed, housed in a purple box. At that moment, I wasn't sure what was happening. So I asked, "What is that?!"
I was still trying to figure out what was happening when he suddenly dropped down on one knee in front of me, silently laughing.
And then I realized what was happening.
In the movies and videos I've seen, when a guy proposes to a girl, the girl bursts into tears, hiccups, and collapses into a trembling mass of a woman. Then she shakily answers with a "Yes" and kisses her man on the lips.
My reaction was no way close to what I've seen in the movies. I collapsed in a heap of laughter and asked over and over, "Are you serious? Seryoso ba to? Joke ba to?"
It has been days since the proposal and for the life of me I can no longer remember what Hon said while I was laughing my butt off. He said something like being serious because he was down on one knee. But there was one thing that made me stop laughing and that was the moment when I realized that he was serious.
And that was when he popped the question, "Will you marry me?"
After a few seconds, I gave him my answer.
"Yes."
He then put the beautiful ring on my finger, (at first he wasn't sure which finger, haha!), and gave me a bone-crushing hug. And there we were, my dear friends, Kelvin giving me a big hug, and me, with messy hair, di pa naliligo, naghihilamos, o nagtoo-toothbrush hugging each other and savoring the first few seconds of our engagement.
That was when the waterworks came.
I've always wondered why women cry when their men propose to them. Why is she crying when she knew her man had plans of proposing? Why would a woman cry when she loves her boyfriend, now fiance, anyway?
I then realized why I was crying. In a matter of seconds, a thousand thoughts came rushing through me head. I was crying because of the new experience we have added to our seven years together. It dawned on me that we have embarked on a new together together. He was no longer my boyfriend; he is now my fiance, my future husband. The man I will serve and love for the rest of my life. The man who will be the father of my children and the man I will spend the rest of my life with. I was crying because of the amount of love I have in my heart for him. I was crying because of the joy in my heart. I have found the man God has made for me. A man who understands and knows the real me; a man who already knows the desires of my heart even without saying. A man who respects me and my family; and a man who selflessly loves, cherishes, and protects me.
I was also crying because I was scared. And I mean holy-shit-this-is-for-real-I'm-getting-married! kind of scared. Can I do this? Will I make a good wife? Can I get pregnant? Is Kelvin really sure about marrying me? Will I make a good mother? Will Kelvin become stricter once we're married? Will he still love me when things become predictable and boring?
And then I got really scared... What about my Mom? What about my Dad? My about my nephew? My family? Can I really leave home? Can I still go home to my parents? Will Daddy still let me sleep beside him? Will I remain my Daddy's little girl? Will my Mama be ok? Will I still be able to see my Mama and Daddy during weekends?
With tears running down my face, I had to ask, "Papayagan mo pa rin akong umuwi sa amin ha?" You'll still let me go home, right?
Laughing, he answered, "Yes, baby. Of course, baby. Sama pa ako!"
And with that, my fears instantly disappeared. The answers came to me as quickly as the questions did. I will make a good wife because my Mama showed me how to become one. She has shown me how to love, honor and serve a husband. I will make a good mother because I have the best mother. My husband will love me whatever happens because I know the man I'm going to marry. He knows me, and he knows how much my family means to me, and he has assured me that he will not take me away from my family because they love him as much as they love me. And bless him, he loves my family too!
After realizing all of these, the reality of everything has started to sink in. Kelvin and I are engaged! We're getting married! We're going to start a life together and make good-looking, chubby babies! Haha!
We're getting married, everyone!
P.S.
Here's a picture of me checking if my nails were clean. Kelvin was taking photos of me and my hand you see, I wanted to check if my nails were clean. LOLs. Girl problems.
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