Our Story
How did Rea and Ken meet? How did they end up together? What were their first impressions of each other? Read on to find out... =)
Ken on Rea
How could I forget… March 2003. One hot afternoon in the halls of the Philippine Trade & Training Centre, better known as PTTC. Amidst the buzz of students (wondering what course to take and which school to go to), there was a lady that never caught my attention. Nah, she did! (DUH! Who wouldn’t notice her?!?) But, considering how the workload was like & being the ever diligent worker that I was then (and still am) and who stays focused on work if its time for WORK, it never occurred to me that love might be lurking in that booth/corner where that lady stood…
She was introduced by one of our contemporaries in the school recruitment and marketing biz at that time… Numbers were exchanged but that was it, I thought! Before the entire exhibit ended while I was checking out other booths, I saw her in one, tinkering with beads that was the booth’s means to attract people to visit… Well the beads did its trick and attracted me to come closer. Plus it helped in a lil’ somethin' else…
We had a friendly chat while attempting to make accessories. She was successful, I wasn’t… And to cut it short before we left the booth, she gave me the bracelet she made… That was a really nice thing to do.
I’m not gonna go into detail anymore, but after that I phoned her. Afterwards, we both became friends… I learned more about her personality and how great an individual she was. Her enthusiasm in general. Her great outlook in life. Her resiliency in facing challenges. Her incredible optimism. All the internal attributes she possessed mainly convinced me that she was indeed unlike any other woman. She was outstanding. And how she encouraged me in being the best I can be was incomparable. No one has ever inspired and motivated me like she did and does until now. And from then on, I said to myself, there was no way I’d be able to find anyone else that would even come close to her… For me it was more than what was seen on the outside, it was for who she was…
Now you might think, “Oh yeah, he’s saying all these nice things coz its meant to be appealing and great for a blog/site, and because people are gonna see it…” Well yeah, partly true (hehehe…). BUT, these are facts… Not just some ripped off “true to life story” of somebody else’s life that’s placed in a personal blog site. And if I may add, without permission of the individual being talked about… Duh! Personal Blog! Does that ring a bell at all?!? What we have is the REAL THING.
It sounds like a fairytale and something that’s too good to be true… We were two different people with a lot of similarities, if that makes sense… We complement each other, we jive together and we were and STILL ARE the unbeatable duo.
With our upcoming wedding and the marriage after, we celebrate the journey we’ve been through, the challenges we’ve overcome, the love we’ve nurtured, the relationship we’ve built. It seemed surreal at times and I still can’t believe everything we have and have been through. But I thank GOD that through it all we’ve managed to pull through.
I love you so much, Rea… And I would never ever be the same without you…
Rea on Ken
After such a moving introduction, suddenly I am at a loss as to how I will talk about Ken… But then again, when it comes to him, I’ve always been unable to fully describe him and what he and I have.
How do you describe someone, who warmed your heart from the first moment you saw his smile? True, I thought that nothing would come out of our exchange of calling cards (amongst throngs of students, no less!). After all, I wasn’t looking to get involved when we met. But then, how do you describe what pushes you to just smile back and hand over the purple bracelet you painstakingly threaded together. Just because of the smile.
It seems as though it all started there. But I think it started with the phone call. And the phone calls after that. And the texts… And our dinners… And the movies… I think we burned our phone lines and maxed out our phone credits. Funnily enough, though we felt the spark, we knew we were consciously venturing into friendship ONLY. After all, we were both “not ready”. And yet… Everyone around us agreed that we were only fooling ourselves. =) Because they saw, what we vehemently denied – TRUE LOVE.
Our denial could be traced from past hurts and fears. We both knew how important the other was and didn’t want to lose each other. So even when we openly admitted our feelings, we couldn’t get ourselves to take that step to couple-hood. Then, God just worked and made it happen.
Rather than paint Ken to be the perfect man or partner, I’d like to openly admit that he isn’t. He doesn’t let me have my way all the time. Rather, he sometimes stands in the way and tells me upfront, “That’s not gonna be good for you”. He doesn’t cave in to my emotional tantrums. What he does is to steer me into thinking more and using logic, and not sentiment, in making decisions. He doesn’t coo and say, “Honey, you look GREAT” even when I don’t. Rather, he enjoins me to keep fit and take better care of myself.
Yes, he is not the stereotypical man/boyfriend/husband (to be!). But then again, that’s what makes me love him all the more. And that is what makes him PERFECT for me.
Ken, you and I are just starting out. But already, you have enriched my life in so many ways. You are the one that keeps me centered, yet your love lifts me to higher grounds. You helped fire in me the drive to excel and lead. And yet you continuously set wonderful examples for me to follow. You encourage me to improve myself. But you have accepted and loved me for who and all I am. You are simply the best. And I love you – for your beautiful heart, your beautiful mind, and your beautiful soul.
Despite the odds and the struggles, deep inside I always believed in what we have. And I am so happy that pretty soon, with God as our witness, we will fully realize our dreams.
P.S.
Uh… Just for the record… We met September 2003. NOT in March. =)
