Today, we are 35 years married We’ve been technically together for 42 years (including the seven years as steadies) . Wow, we have gone a long, long way. My hubby and I are just by ourselves,  the past six years ever since our children lived independently from us. It is just the two of us.  Most of the time it is nice and dandy, but there are times we get into each other’s nerves. He does not like it when I end up going home late from my events. I also tend to snap when I am tired.  These are the moments to just back off, and stay cool.   I’ve learned to detach  with love after 35  years of marriage. So when it is my husband’s issue, I follow recovery principles. I have practiced these over the past ten years or so. I wished I had learned these sooner.

I remember the FOUR C’s. I know I am not the CAUSE of his problems. I have no CONTROL over his problems. I cannot CURE it. Knowing that I have no CONTROL over people, places and things, the only remedy to the situation is a CHANGE of my attitude. It took a lot of practice. My strategy is always to be gentle with myself. It’s useless beating myself over it. If I have to, I will beat myself with a feather. It was only in 2005 that I learned about self-care. I take care of myself by going to facial salons, exercising at the gym, meditation, laughing and pampering myself. Facials are important to me because I don’t like to have worry lines on my face. It’s also quite relaxing and calms my mind. Exercise gives me the endorphins to stay high with happy hormones. It’s working well and when friends see me, they think I have a “nice aura” around me. Little do they know, that hubby and I just had a time-out. Hehe.

my husband and I

During one of those “cool” moments a few years ago, I received an email from my dear hubby. (See, he now communicates via email)

Dear Noyt,

An interesting article about Chat Silayan. I love you.

Your husband,

Butch

Chat Silayan is his high school batch mate and as you all know, she died of Colon cancer in 2006.

Anyway, I digress. The email was an article, “Whole Again” written on April 16, 2003, wherein Chat Silayan-Bailon shares the lessons she’s learned after 10 years of marriage. Part of the article is about….

THE SECRET TO STAYING TOGETHER

This December 30th, my husband and I will celebrate our 10th anniversary.Looking back, I sometimes say, ““Wow, how did we get this far?” Especially when I remember our fights, which so escalated that we had to see a marriage counselor.

But we survived those turbulent times––through God, through our friendship, through our continuous effort to tackle our problems instead of running out the door. And with every experience, every fight, I’d learn things about what marriage really meant.

Deal with your emotions. I had to work through a lot of feelings from my childhood: the fear, the anger, the destructive coping mechanisms that kept me safe but also created barriers between my husband and I. I needed to identify where they were coming from and find ways to channel them positively.

Take command responsibility. Mike and I tried to go for counseling, which really helped, but at the end of the day, the task still fell on our shoulders. We had to make the necessary changes. We had to stop blaming each other and look for solutions together.

Be patient. We expect so many things from our partners, but we have to let them grow at their own pace. I wanted Mike to be good at fatherhood right away; I now realize that he needed time.

Accept each other. Nobody is perfect. We have our own faults and shortcomings. We need to accept each other and learn to give unconditional love.

Pray. Problems cannot be fixed miraculously overnight. God wants you to go through the process, because He is working on your character and teaching you wisdom. If you get the answer right away then you don’t learn the lesson

Remember what brought you together. When I reach the point of ““ayoko na,” it helps to look back to the time that we liked each other and ask myself, what did I fall in love with? With the many concerns of married life, it’s easy to take the good things for granted.

Don’t lose your own identity. Marriage only works if you have space to be yourself and develop your own dreams and personality. Don’ t lose yourself. I was lucky to have gone through so many experiences before I finally settled down. Yes, I was lost for several years, and a lot of those memories are painful, but I am a stronger person because of what I went through. Now that I’m married, I want to make sure that I don’t lose the identity that I tried so hard to find.

Mission/Vision. Have a family mission and vision that will serve as compass when things are going off-course.

Marriage is definitely hard work. We can get into each other’s nerves. Hmm, perhaps my husband sent this email so we continue to work on finding solutions and making necessary changes.

As originally posted by Toni Tiu at the Philippine Online Chronicles

new years resolution for couples

Want to strengthen your relationship this 2015? Make New Year’s resolutions as a couple. Making resolutions with your partner can help you watch out for each other and build a more solid foundation for your relationship. Try some of the resolutions below to have a more loving new year!

1. Ditch multi-tasking when you’re together. When you’re spending time with your significant other, park your mobile phone and laptop. Put it in your bag such that when your phone vibrates or chirps, you’re not tempted to pull it out easily and check the alerts. Give your partner your full attention. When you’re doing other things at the same time, it gives your partner a sense  that she is not worthy of your time. Banish those bothersome bleeps and buzzes. Give yourself 100% when you’re together.

2. Work out together. Once you get into a comfortable rhythm as a couple, it can become very tempting to just settle in front of the TV or the laptop and snack on junk food. After all, shouldn’t true love include loving each other fully — love handles and all? This isn’t very healthy for both of you. If you do enjoy eating together, choose healthy dishes. Even more so, move together! Find a sport you can enjoy together. Whether it’s running together in the morning, hitting the gym and being each other’s gym buddies, or playing badminton against each other, find a way to sweat together. You say goodbye to extra pounds and improve your health together.

3. Be more patient with each other. As the months and years go by, the little things that we adored about each other begin to tick us off. What we used to romance about each other begin to irritate us. Stick it out. There’s a Filipino saying that goes “Ang pag-aasawa ay hindi biro, ‘di tulad ng kanin, iluluwa kung mapaso.” (Marriage is not a joke. It is not like food that you can spit out when it is too hot to chew.) This quote applies to any relationship. You just don’t cut it short when the going gets tough. Find ways to become more patient with each other this new year.

4. Play together. Find a hobby that you can both enjoy. Do something creative together! Sip & Gogh in Quezon City is a first-of-its-kind paint and sip studio here in the Philippines. Instructors are available to guide you in painting your own masterpiece that you can take home after your painting session. You don’t have to bring materials as all will be provided for you — canvas, paints, palette, and all. Why not paint a masterpiece together? They have sessions for couples too! Indulge your creative sides together.

5. Commit wholeheartedly. Similar to the first resolution, this is all about giving your full 100% to your partner. If you are not married, are you ready to take the next step? Think about it. If you are married, how committed are you to your spouse? Be inspired by Pope Francis’ thanksgiving message to World Youth Day volunteers. He said:

“Today, there are those who say that marriage is out of fashion; in a culture of relativism and the ephemeral, many preach the importance of ‘enjoying’ the moment. They say that it is not worth making a life-long commitment, making a definitive decision, ‘forever,’ because we do not know what tomorrow will bring.”

“I ask you, instead, to be revolutionaries, to swim against the tide; yes, I am asking you to rebel against this culture that sees everything as temporary and that ultimately believes that you are incapable of responsibility, that you are incapable of true love. I have confidence in you and I pray for you. Have the courage ‘to swim against the tide.’ Have the courage to be happy.”

Here’s to a happy new year to couples. May these resolutions help your relationship grow even more loving in 2015!

Photo Credit: Pixabay