TOPAZ HORIZON

Look at how happy my boys are. They've been so good throughout the pandemic. I think they loved being cooped up inside, even if it dragged on for 2 years (and counting!). I could never ask for better boys. And it all started with the eldest one, my Vito.

Vito has always been easy. Easy pregnancy, easy childbirth, easy recovery, easy infancy, easy toddlerhood, easy everything! He's a happy, healthy, smart, and such a good boy. It's so easy to make him laugh. And he asks so little from us. Just video games and lots of food to munch on. That's it. He's happy.

His Papa once said, "I hope he never changes." And with Vito on the cusp of big change coming - adolescence! teenagehood! middle school! - I agree with his Papa. May this wonderful little boy never ever change. May he always be healthy. May he always be happy. May he always have love and support. That's all I ever want for him, the boy who changed my life. 

Thank you for letting him be a part of yours, too!  

P.S. I'm for Leni-Kiko! Ipanalo na na10 ito!

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I like this because of the drawers under one bed. Always need storage in a small space!

Just Bunk Beds

This has a study area. But it's just for one kid. Maybe I'll put bookshelves there instead.

Step 2: Kids get interviewed, part 1. Tatanungin lang sila kung sino kasama nila and if aware sila na magpapabakuna sila. Then they get weighed and have their height measured. 

Step 3: Kids get interviewed, part 2. This time, it's a doctor who checks their fact sheet and confirms the details there (may hika? may sipon? may ubo? etc). Again, tatlo anak ko so isa-isa sila because ako talaga ang ini-interview. So mas nakakatagal yung process kasi kahit na tatlo or apat yung doctors na available, we still went one by one. But di naman issue kasi mabilis yung process plus may TV to entertain the kids. 

Meet the men and women who have figured out a few things that have made married life not just bearable but completely wonderful:

Photographer Dix who’s been married to Ria for 21 years
Father-of-three boys Alistair who celebrated his 19th wedding anniversary to Gelonie
Engineer Fleur who’s still in love with Alvin, her husband of almost 12 years
Writer Ronna who, with husband Bojo, is welcoming a decade of marriage this year

According to them, these are the secrets of a successful marriage:

Show up - all the time.

The best thing about marriage is to be with someone you chose and who chose you, through thick and thin, till death do you part. Fleur calls Alvin, “My own permanent person in my life. It's having someone to share everything with in life. I have someone to call when I have good or bad news. When I'm sad, I have an instant counselor and personal hugger. Chores and responsibilities are divided between us. There's someone who will always have my back, who will take care of me when I'm sick, who will travel with me to different places, and someone who can make me laugh until I grow old. I make sure that I do the same for him. I make sure that he knows that he can also count on me for everything whether it’s for good times or bad.”

Showing up in the good times and the bad times is what friends do. But spouses offer something that even the most loyal of friends can’t: they’re there all the time. As Fleur calls it, a spouse is your own permanent person. Couples who show up for each other are more settled, less stressed, and happier. Dix says, “We don’t really do big gestures. We are just there consistently for each other. It’s the small things like being there for each other every day and knowing that we have each other’s back that matters.”

Remember that happiness is not the purpose of marriage.

The traditional marriage vows insist on sticking together through the sad and bad parts of life. That should be a big warning sign to all intending to marry that marriage is not going to be a joy ride. Happiness comes and goes. Even love can wane.

Ronna says, “I think about the design of marriage, that it's not a lifelong commitment designed for our happiness. It sounds bleak but the way I see it, marriage can bring us joy when we look at it with the proper perspective. I learned to see its beauty when I stopped looking at it and my husband to fulfill my needs.”

Hold on to the past and look forward to the future.

Alistair explains the importance of having a shared history: “We look back on all those memories with fondness. Most of the time we live in the now - what keeps us busy these days, what current needs we should take care of. But having all those memories gives us joy and also helps us look forward to what's ahead knowing all the things that we've been through.”

Having a shared goal - a cherished dream, a plan to travel together after the kids grow up, and the like - helps you both look in the same direction. When the bad times come, and they will, you both can look forward to that future.

You’re one unit but two separate individuals.

Just because you’re married doesn’t mean you have to turn into each other’s clones or do everything together. Dix says, “The hardest part of being married is accepting that even though you guys have been married for the longest time, we are still individuals. Sure we complement each other or else we would not have been married for this long, but we can’t really turn our spouses into something we want them to be. We just have to accept them for who they are.”

Celebrate your differences. Pursue different hobbies. Don’t insist that your wife must watch your favorite superhero movies and don’t expect your husband to enjoy gossiping about celebrities while having your nails done at the salon. Some activities should be done with friends.

Most married people usually enjoy the same things but having something of your own also keeps you interesting. You’ll always have fresh gossip to share with your spouse!

Spend time together.

While you should improve your own individuality, don’t forget to grow with your spouse, too. Just because they’re there till death do you part doesn’t mean you should take them for granted. Dix says he and Ria schedule date nights and trips without the kids. “We make time for each other. We really talked about this seriously. We have kids. Others will say that their priority would be their kids but for us, God would be number one and right after that would be each other,” he says. “Our kids will leave the nest and kaming dalawa lang in the end. We wouldn’t want to be strangers with our kids gone and nothing to talk about so we constantly work on that.”

Ronna agrees. Even though she and Bojo are together 24/7 in quarantine, she makes time just for her husband and that can be a date on their balcony. “Between bills, chores, parenting, and work, having quality conversations regularly needs to be clocked in deliberately for us even when we're locked down together,” she says. “Sometimes it looks like snacking together when the kids are finally asleep at night or when we find our home to be briefly silent because they miraculously napped at the same time.”

Communication actually means just listen.

Marriage experts always say the secret to a successful marriage is communication. What they fail to say is communication can’t happen when both parties are talking at the same time. Alistair advises, “Learn to listen, not just to the words spoken but more so to the heart of your spouse.”

The art of listening can be learned when you have empathy. Fleur says her marriage became more peaceful when they learned to accept that she and Alvin are two different people. She adds, “We learned to understand where each other was coming from. I try to put myself in his shoes. We learned to compromise. Lastly, I told him that communication is very important especially for couples like us. After 10 years of marriage, I can say that we are communicating more than we have been during the first years of the marriage. And that helped a lot.”

Take your time.

You have a lifetime together so don’t rush things, especially conflict and misunderstandings. Dix says, “I don’t believe in the teaching that you shouldn’t let the sun go down mad at each other. If someone is not ready to talk, so be it. Give each other space. Sometimes if you push too much and want to hash things out because advice tells you to, you might say things because of anger and that is the worst. Words cut deep, so take a breather, cool down, and talk when you are ready or when the other person is ready. That’s another perk of being married this long. You’ll know when.”

Ronna also believes in simmering down. “I step away from arguments and try to sort out my own thoughts and emotions before coming back to talk things out,” she says. “I used to need to settle conflicts right away but now I've learned to take my time, and think first about my own issues and actions rather than pointing my finger and blaming my husband.”

Be the right person for your spouse.

A lifetime together means going through many changes - in looks, in beliefs, in finances, in politics. Sometimes it’s hard to be with someone who is no longer the person you married and you may start looking for a meaningful relationship elsewhere. But a strong marriage has two people who don’t look anywhere else. They know to adapt, compromise, accept and celebrate each other throughout life’s challenges. Dix says, “Don’t fall for the nonsense of finding the right person. Be the right person.”

Have fun together!

Fun protects your marriage so it isn’t a frivolous pastime. When you’re constantly creating memories, sharing adventures old and new, establishing traditions, and laughing together, it strengthens your bond and makes your union happy.

Fleur says, “After the wedding and the honeymoon, the hard work on the marriage will start. It will not be all rainbows and butterflies like what you read in books or watch in movies. Your sense of humor will help get you through those times. Go with the flow. Enjoy the experience.”

Keep your promises.

The drudgery and monotony of daily life can make marriage dull. Dramatic changes, whether it’s bad like job loss and illness or good like a promotion or a new baby, can make feelings fluctuate. Successful couples know that life’s triumphs and trials come and go so they base their marriage on their wedding vows: to commit to a life together “for better, for worse, for richer, for poorer, in sickness and in health.”

Fleur advises, “There will be situations that will really test your marriage and the vows you made to each other. Just remember that both of you are always on the same team. Walang bibitaw.”

Every couple is different, and each successful marriage has its own secrets on what worked and what doesn’t. We hope these tips inspire you and your spouse to find your secrets to your own enduring marriage.

*Photo by Crew on Unsplash

 

Okay, back to virtual house viewing! May reader kasi na nagsabi sa akin na gusto niya yung mga houses na nahahanap ko sa YouTube so game, share ako again. Anyway, to the new ones on the blog, I used to share house viewings because of quarantine since March 2020, diba, and hindi lang pala ako ang nahilig sa mga home tours. I've been watching house videos a lot because I imagine what life is with a garden or I'm researching for renovation ideas, ganyan. I'm subscribed to Bryce Langston's Living Big in a Tiny House, Jenna's Tiny House, Giant Journey, Levi Kelly's Airbnb weekly tours, and Never Too Small. I watch their videos when I wash the dishes!

But last year, I discovered local real estate videos. I like the Jas & Mr. Hi Guys! husband-and-wife team kahit na hingal na hingal lagi si misis. I watch practically all their videos. And if naghahanap kayo ng bahay sa east (Antipolo, Cainta, Taytay), check niyo videos nila.

Okay, so this is my favorite house so far. 

You might be surprised na gusto ko siya kasi Loyal Readers know I love midcentury-modern styles. Yung huge walls of windows, wood floors, space, space, space! And yes I love that but I also love concrete. Yes, concrete! Lately lang, mga a few years ago when my husband and I watched "The World's Most Extraordinary Homes" on Netflix (and I blogged about how you know your life is complete) and saw some really nice houses that were made of simple gray concrete.

And this is one concrete house I found locally that I really like!

Watch, watch:

Love the big windows! Love the little room sa ground floor which will be my husband's office. I like the small but efficient kitchen. I like the big rooms. I have 3 kids but they like sleeping in one room so I think the big room in front will be their bedroom and the smaller room at the back will be their study room. And I love the master bedroom, too! The only thing I don't like is the fact that the bathrooms don't have windows. So if I buy this (I won't hehe), bubutasin ko yung bathroom walls para may sunlight and ventilation.

Anyway, this house is in Mission Hills, Antipolo. Malayo ba yun sa NCR? I heard maganda raw dun, like super. So now I'm interested to go visit that area!