Blessings

Thank God for the smaller miracles in life. For emails and cell phones. For ice creams and cameras. Airlines tickets to romantic places.

and for all the happiness on our joyous marriage occasions and the people who came to share it with us.

And mostly for my wonderful husband and our wonderful married life

Its been over a month now since we became man and wife, and though I expect a lot of things to have happened and a lot of changes taking effect in our lives I did not however expect time to move this swiftly. I do feel I have aged. How could I have not, between now and my wedding day, the amount of paradigm shifts that transpired seemed to have moved mountains. And yet it all happened just over a month back. There’s irony in everything I’ve said in essence.

Anyhow, married life has been great. I’m won over by greenness of the grasses on this side of the hills. Of course its no easy feat keeping it green, there’s the extra chores to keep at. Watering it early in the morning and late in the nights and the times in between. Having to bend over for things I’ve never done and now have to do (there’s a growing list of it for a lazy bone at heart Like I am). Back when I was unmarried, many a married couple have told me it’s a great feeling getting hitched. Now I know that feeling!! Yay!! (And no, I’m not talking about the sex okay you perverts so stop rolling your eye balls…)

Anyway, just to enlighten you, the reason I am so deficient of time these days (these days being “since I’m married”) is because my everyday life is so fraught with plans running against time. I seriously have not feel completely relaxed yet. My life these days are packed and packaged in carry-on bags, living from suitcases and sleeping on borrowed beds. Not to put it in words, here’s the scheduled of how life has been since our wedding

19,20 Dec 08
Solemnization, reception my side

21-27 Dec 08
Meet families my side, hubby go to work most days, I clean messy house, spend spare time preparing for reception on hubby’s side

28 Dec 08
Reception hubby’s side

29 Dec 08
Whole day outdoor photo shoot

30 Dec 08
Visit family on hubby’s side

31 Dec 08 – 5 Jan 09
Honeymoon and new year in Bali

6 Jan - NOW
Back to work and on weekends busy visiting more families on both sides. In between, some small trips and meet ups with friends, doing laundry, house chores and family reunions.

Managed to celebrate our first monthversary watching a movie which was fun but end up tired everyday of our lives (yes, even on the weekends, ESPECIALLY on the weekends). Not to mention, the times in between when our parents expect us to pay visits to relative houses to properly introduce our spouse, (the wedding receptions apparently not being proper enough by custom Malay standard of tradition) were especially taxing – and we’re not even halfway done yet. So we were practically out every single day if not working, mostly doing things for others and with others. It’s pretty tiring, physically, and when I sit to think about it, it stresses me out mentally too. In addition, in a bid to lessen our parents’ sense of shock about us moving out straight away even though our own place has been available and ready for us for a while, we decided to let them get used to us not being around so often bit by bit, alternating our stays by week to practice imposing our absences; and that brought us to another run of juggling household stays. On the weeks I’m in based, we stay in Penang and on those when I’m out station, we bunk in Kulim and weekends mostly is at his grandpa’s place (the land in between our homes) if we’re not already running around with the visits that is. And so it was that we’re now living in suitcases, always packed and packing, ready and on the go. I feel like a wanderer, never quite belonging to a place. As much as I love spending time with our families every other day, I do long for some tranquil together time in our own place, our own private space, tending to our own businesses, and not having to spend so much time for anything else but each other’s company. The only times we were really on our own was during our honeymoon. Otherwise we’ve been busy tending to our familial obligations – both sides of the family. And it’s not just a feeling I have, but it’s reality that it will take months from now before we finish the visiting rounds. Huhu…

Stress stories aside, busy or not, running or not, tired or not, the most important point of the day and all our days together is that we’re happy and that we do it all together. Him and me, a pair, existing and fully functioning only when the other is around. Through the household juggling, and running and packing, we’ve managed to go to sleep content everyday only because we’re always doing things together and no matter how tiring it gets and how demanding this exercise is, at the end of the day, we’re together albeit sleeping in a different bed each night.

I love this feeling of complete security. The feeling of no matter how chaotic life is outside of us, once we’re back to just us, two of us together and no one else, taking a break from the disorder that life seems like these days (albeit very briefly), everything is okay and the world is in order back again.

We try finding times on our own these days, which is hard when so much of our presence is expected everywhere and being the obedient son and daughter that we are (hihi) we tend to feel highly obliged and dutiful to fulfill these familial obligations as to not offend anyone. Its hard work being newlyweds. I didn’t give this much thought before I guess which is why my off-expectations sometimes just tire me. I’m not fully prepared mentally for the running. But once in a while, we do go out, just to sit by the beach and watch the waves and other people fishing, watch movies and shopping and stuff. I guess its just a matter of time getting used to it all.
I believe it will get better, less tiring, more relaxing.

It’s already so much better now just for having a husband. I love just being with him, looking at him, love having this sense of belonging to someone and him belonging to me. I love calling him Abang. And if you ask me if its all worth it leaving singlehood and getting hitched, I’ll tell you , ‘Definitely! Its more than worth it’. So you single ladies out there, I wish you love, happiness and a quick marriage coz it rawks!!!

And because I don’t think its that late yet: HAPPY NEW YEAR EVERYONE!!!

post-script: there a few back posts of life after marriage and honeymoon and etc in one of my thumb drive somewhere. hopefully i will find it and get to post some if not all back-dated.