Chapter October Celebration
One of the chapters in a year that I look forward to is Chapter October. It’s not my birth month, but it’s my hubby’s. That means there’s cake! Yum! 😛
Also, it’s when we celebrate our Wedding Anniversary. Thirteen years married. Whoa! That means we’ve known each other for almost two decades.
Although we didn’t discuss any plans, I was hoping we’d have lunch together before we fetch the children from school. It didn’t happen.
But… We had dinner at Café Ilang-ilang, Manila Hotel that evening. It’s not a romantic candlelit set-up or anything. We joined plenty of other diners getting food from the buffet tables.
Here is a rare bathroom selfie of me, before we went to the ladies manning the reservations and we being showed to our table.
While cutting into our food, bringing it to our lips, chewing and then swallowing, Rix and I talked about the taste & texture of the morsels that we tried, and murmuring about some of the people in the dining area. I love the ease of conversations that flows between us.
It’s sometimes a wonder how two people could be with each other for 13 years. How do couples stay together for 20, 30, 40 plus years?
Anniversary Thoughts
Marriage is quite an adventure. Even just living together and witnessing each other’s habits are one. Then some couples have children, others get a dog. Seeing how one another handle responsibilities is, I don’t know, either a trick or a treat.
They say that:
That’s true, but I believe it’s also:
- Loving your spouse even when you don’t like him/her at the moment.
- It’s respecting his/her decisions and supporting them in any way.
- When you know that there’s a certain thing that he/she gets mad about, stop doing it, lessen it, or compromise.
- Listening to their words and noticing their actions. Empathize.
- Trying new food or activities together… All part of the adventure as husband and wife.
- Always lending a hand, and saying magic words like “Please, Thank you, Excuse me”. Be courteous, and considerate. These always convey respect.
- Finding the good in each day, in each other.
- Praying for one another.
And a lot more! What would you add? 🙂
Some Adventures
Chapter October saw me trying the Pumpkin Spice Frappuccino from Starbucks at last. It’s creamy. Kind of tasted like gingerbread with a hint of cinnamon and pumpkin.
Then, I had lunch with hubby and a couple of our friends at Lugang Café to try out their eat-all-you-can dimsum promo. A dimsum I had hoped had siomai and hakao. There were plenty of XLB’s, though.
One Sunday, we visited Kidzania Manila once more. As usual, Rix and I were in the parents’ lounge, hanging out. Sometimes dozing off, me with a book to read while enduring the cold of the air conditioner. We also ate our lunch and snacks there, with the kids, when they needed to take a break.
Another Sunday, our whole family trooped to the very new Ayala Mall Manila Bay. There were a lot of stores and restaurants still closed. We had lunch at Chili’s after walking around, up and down the escalators and stairs. We visited a toy store and a bookstore, both are musts for us when in a mall. A book might or might not get purchased, the toys were for looking at only.
Then, when almost 5PM rolled around, we fell in line to claim our bottles of water and tubs of popcorn, which came with the Php450 ticket per person. We were shown by the guard to the area with the recliners and relaxed, put our feet up, ready to watch Maleficent: Mistress of Evil.
End of Chapter
And then my husband turned a year older. One of his friends gave him a cake days before, I bought him another a day after, so we could take a photo as a family. (And eat more cake. 😉 )
Near the conclusion of Chapter October, my dreaded season arrived. The assessment season. Exams. But now that the children are slowly but surely growing up, most of the time they review for their quizzes by themselves. Though, Rix and I still guide them in subjects like Math and Chinese. Let’s see how they’d do in their second quarter exams. I am a little anxious about the results and the report cards. Most of all, I just wanted this season of three days to be over.
October 31 marked the beginning of their sem break. A short one. It was spent at home, mostly. A few days of loosening the rules on their gadget use. A little reading of books for pleasure.
For me, also reading (The Gift of an Ordinary Day – A Mother’s Memoir by Katrina Kenison), and watching shows on Netflix.
It was a restful time for us. A little bit of work, and then enjoyment of time and each other’s presence. How about you? What are your favorite things to do when on vacation?
