Ten Years After....

Ten Years After....

Today, we, my hubby and I, wake up at 5 am early morning as always and practice the meditation, pray for the day like every other day. About 7 am, before my hubby is going to work, we have taken our 10th year Anniversary Photos. Every year for this day, we've always taken the couple photos for our Anniversary memory. Happily, today is the 10th time of taken the anniversary photos.

Later after he left for his work, he has to work for Saturday too while I am not, I am thinking to write something for our Anniversary in my blog or face book or in forum, in fact, I have sung one lovely song for my hubby and thinking to make the video as usual I do for his Birthday's present. But, when I opened my mail, unexpectedly, I found one mail from him, he may be sending that just before he went out this morning, I feel really so... so touched and I am with tears of joy.

People said that the tenth year of marriage celebration is the first of the major milestone anniversaries. But, I don't need the diamond or any other big celebration for Anniversary but only metta. So do I.

Here is a letter from my beloved hubby for our 10th year Anniversary day....

Dear ....,

Happy 10th Year Anniversary of our marriage.

Our anniversary is a time to look back at the good times and a time to look ahead to live our dreams together.
I love you
.....

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My Wife

She litters the house with books, her paintings, drawings and brushes. She's not much for making housekeeping. She seldom does washing my clothes, doing ironing, or sewing anything.

But she's my hero.

My heroes are people who slog along, day-in and day-out, doing what they can to improve the lives of others. It's relatively easy, in my experience, to rise to the occasion to meet short-lived -- even if difficult -- challenges. But shouldering heavy loads day-in and day-out is considerably harder.

People of modest means who struggle mightily to put food on their tables and clothes on their kids' backs are my heroes. People who care for invalid relatives are my heroes. People who work in shelters (human and animal) are my heroes. People who go into troubled neighborhoods after dark to deliver food to street dwellers are my heroes.

And my wife – she -- is my hero.

She was one of those academic over-achievers. You know the type: studied hard, got good grades. Her NUS (National University of Singapore) resided in a place so small that it had only one traffic light in its entire city.

After completing a Engineering bachelor's degree at the Rangoon Institute of Technology (RIT in Burma), she went to Singapore at National University of Singapore , first earning a master's degree with full scholarship.

We first met at University and fell in love at Mandalay Sedona Hotel Project as she working as Design Engineer and me as a Site Engineer. And we married in Oct-2001 on the small island of Singapore and we are still living in it.

To my way of thinking, however, she is now doing the most important work of her life. Lucky me, I get to live with my wife. She always likes to bite my hand (she was born on Dog Year), but I really enjoy it.

My wife, who fills me with admiration. She is a partner and a companion, at times a senior staff engineer, at times like a mother, a friend or sister. But most of all she has been my best and closest comrade through all life's struggles.

My marriage has been the greatest and most precious happiness in my life. I would tell my wife that if I would to be born again, I would hope to be married to her again and again, in lifetime after lifetime, throughout eternity.

My wife knows the truth about me better than anyone, and I think I know her devotion and patience better than anyone else could. So, I would ask her if she could be there for me always. But maybe this sounds more like a help wanted ad, than a message of thanks!

Quiet mutual understanding can be fine at times, but if these emotions are expressed verbally, I am sure that the relationship between a husband and wife will become much richer and more fulfilling. When one speaks frankly and openly, from the heart, about the things that matter most, one freely reveals oneself, making it possible to be better understood and loved by others.

Marriage begins, after all, with two strangers thrown together. If you forget this very simple fact, you start to expect more and more from your partner, and this can lead to dissatisfaction and eventually to friction in your relationship. The bond that brings a married couple together must be forged so it is even deeper than the ties between blood relations. And such a bond can only be based on the depth of one's character.

I think what is necessary in a marriage are very ordinary things like care and consideration. Just like the sun, rising from the east every day, something ordinary and constant is always necessary in life. There is no instant magical formula to a good marriage. I think our relationship is in some ways built on very ordinary foundations.

I call my wife "Lieutenant," because she is always giving me advice and cautioning me about various matters. Women tend to be more practical than men, and view everything with the strength of a realism rooted in daily life. No man can match a woman's keen intuition to see through to the essence of things, her depth of wisdom and her ability to take calm action.

My wife often worries about my health and my tendency to overwork. It has been wonderful for me to have her watching attentively over me all these years, and seeing her smile often made me feel better than any medicine.

And she is so optimistic that she often amazes me. She says "I've learned a lot, having gone with you through many hardships. And I've come to the point where I am never taken by surprise now, no matter what happens."

I can't describe in words what a positive influence her smile has had on me, particularly at times when I was exhausted or stressed from work. She says that while most people consider a smile the result of happiness, she sees a smile as the cause of happiness.

Our life together has not been easy. I have been devoting myself to a struggle to create a new age in which human life and happiness are valued above all. It has not been an ordinary life, and every day has been turbulent and eventful. Somehow, the more hardships we faced, the more we could strengthen our bond as comrades, as human beings, and as a couple. Everyday the bond between us gets deeper and deeper. And I know it will continue to deepen forever.

I have tried to write poems about my wife, but often when we look at each other, we start to laugh, or she starts to scold me. However, I will end by sharing a poem that I’m going to give my wife on this 10th year anniversary fall on 08-Oct-2011 :

Opening a new path together with you, My inseparable support and companion.

I love you so much
.....
08-Oct-2011

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This song is from him too....

Thanks for reading it....

With Much Metta,
Ko Yay Chan + Ma Shwe Suu
08 October 2011

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