A Different Journey

All throughout 2010, we booked trips left and right for the upcoming year. Hong Kong, Macau, Australia, India, Korea, and just around the Philippines, traveling was the highlight of the new year. Until a week ago.

My better half was in town unexpectedly. This was fueled by the still-tentative plan of my going to the US early January because of work. We did the usual - ran errands during the day, then dinner to cap the night. Except that it wasn't any ordinary day. It was exactly a year and a day from our first date.

We had dinner in the exact same restaurant, took a stroll along the beach, then settled on the boardwalk, just like the previous year. We then had our usual conversation. I had no idea that he was up to something, until he reached into his pocket and pulled out a ring. And it was just at that moment that I realized he was proposing.

Though he had originally planned a more dramatic proposal on our upcoming trip to Australia, the still-tentative US trip moved things earlier. But despite not having too much drama, it was perfect. On our favorite little spot, on that cold, windy night, it just needed the two of us. No one and nothing else. And with the sound of the crashing waves beneath us, and his arms around me, I said yes* for the second time. The same spot where I said yes 9 months ago.

It was the perfect end to the previous year. The start of a new year would be the perfect time to start planning for our future. The wedding specifically, but most importantly, our marriage.

The trips we've previously booked will no longer be the highlight this year, though we'd still push through with them. The tons of preparations will be. It will be a crazy year, I'm sure. But it will also be exciting. I know that there will be times when we'd want to wring each others' necks, and there will be surprises lurking in every corner. But in the end, I know love with prevail.

Our trips will diminish considerably after this year. But then we will be embarking on a different journey, the most important trip of our lives. We will be starting a new life together. Unlike traveling for a holiday, this will be a longer journey. It won't always be as fun, but it will be more fulfilling.

Since the early proposal was because of the upcoming trip, I had to ask one question.

Me: So what happens if the trip won't push through?
A: I'll take it back.
Me: You are so mean.

And I was showered with a million kisses..


* I actually said 'of course'!