Value Marriage

Stumbled on something worth reading. I don't own the story below or any part of it.

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MARRIAGE



When I got home that night as my wife served dinner, I held her hand and
said, I've got something to tell you. She sat down and ate quietly.
Again I observed the hurt in her eyes.



Suddenly I didn't know how to open my mouth. But I had to let her know
what I was thinking. I want a divorce.. I raised the topic calmly.



She didn't seem to be annoyed by my words, instead she asked me softly,
why?



I avoided her question. This made her angry. She threw away the
chopsticks and shouted at me, you are not a man! That night, we didn't
talk to each other. She was weeping. I knew she wanted to find out what
had happened to our marriage. But I could hardly give her a satisfactory
answer; she had lost my heart to Dew. I didn't love her anymore. I just
pitied her!



With a deep sense of guilt, I drafted a divorce agreement which stated
that she could own our house, our car, and 30% stake of my company.



She glanced at it and then tore it into pieces. The woman who had spent
ten years of her life with me had become a stranger. I felt sorry for
her wasted time, resources and energy but I could not take back what I
had said for I loved Dew so dearly. Finally she cried loudly in front of
me, which was what I had expected to see. To me her cry was actually a
kind of release. The idea of divorce which had obsessed me for several
weeks seemed to be firmer and clearer now.



The next day, I came back home very late and found her writing something
at the table. I didn't have supper but went straight to sleep and fell
asleep very fast because I was tired after an eventful day with Dew.



When I woke up, she was still there at the table writing. I just did not
care so I turned over and was asleep again.



In the morning she presented her divorce conditions: she didn't want
anything from me, but needed a month's notice before the divorce.

She requested that in that one month we both struggle to live as
normal a
life as possible. Her reasons were simple: our son had his exams in a
month's time and she didn't want to disrupt him with our broken
marriage.



This was agreeable to me. But she had something more, she asked me to
recall how I had carried her into out bridal room on our wedding day.



She requested that everyday for the month's duration I carry her out of
our bedroom to the front door ever morning.. I thought she was going
crazy. Just to make our last days together bearable I accepted her odd
request.



I told Dew about my wife's divorce conditions.. . She laughed loudly and
thought it was absurd. No matter what tricks she applies, she has to
face the divorce, she said scornfully..



My wife and I hadn't had any body contact since my divorce intention was
explicitly expressed. So when I carried her out on the first day, we
both appeared clumsy. Our son clapped behind us, daddy is holding mummy
in his arms. His words brought me a sense of pain. From the bedroom to
the sitting room, then to the door, I walked over ten meters with her in
my arms. She closed her eyes and said softly; don't tell our son about
the divorce. I nodded, feeling somewhat upset. I put her down outside
the door. She went to wait for the bus to work. I drove alone to the
office.



On the second day, both of us acted much more easily. She leaned on my
chest. I could smell the fragrance of her blouse. I realized that I
hadn't looked at this woman carefully for a long time.. I realized she
was not young any more. There were fine wrinkles on her face, her hair
was graying! Our marriage had taken its toll on her. For a minute I
wondered what I had done to her.



On the fourth day, when I lifted her up, I felt a sense of intimacy
returning. This was the woman who had given ten years of her life to me.




On the fifth and sixth day, I realized that our sense of intimacy was
growing again. I didn't tell Dew about this. It became easier to carry
her as the month slipped by. Perhaps the everyday workout made me
stronger.



She was choosing what to wear one morning. She tried on quite a few
dresses but could not find a suitable one. Then she sighed, all my
dresses have grown bigger. I suddenly realized that she had grown so
thin, that was the reason why I could carry her more easily.



Suddenly it hit me... she had buried so much pain and bitterness in her
heart. Subconsciously I reached out and touched her head.



Our son came in at the moment and said, Dad, it's time to carry mum out.
To him, seeing his father carrying his mother out had become an
essential part of his life. My wife gestured to our son to come closer
and hugged him tightly. I turned my face away because I was afraid I
might change my mind at this last minute. I then held her in my arms,
walking from the bedroom, through the sitting room, to the hallway. Her
hand surrounded my neck softly and naturally. I held her body tightly;
it was just like our wedding day.



But her much lighter weight made me sad. On the last day, when I held
her in my arms I could hardly move a step. Our son had gone to school. I
held her tightly and said, I hadn't noticed that our life lacked
intimacy.



I drove to office.... jumped out of the car swiftly without locking the
door. I was afraid any delay would make me change my mind...I walked
upstairs. Dew opened the door and I said to her, Sorry, Dew, I do not
want the divorce anymore.



She looked at me, astonished, and then touched my forehead.. Do you have
a fever? She said. I moved her hand off my head. Sorry, Dew, I said, I
won't divorce. My marriage life was boring probably because she and I
didn't value the details of our lives, not because we didn't love each
other any more. Now I realize that since I carried her into my home on
our wedding day I am supposed to hold her until death do us apart.



Dew seemed to suddenly wake up. She gave me a loud slap and then slammed
the door and burst into tears. I walked downstairs and drove away.



At the floral shop on the way, I ordered a bouquet of flowers for my
wife. The salesgirl asked me what to write on the card. I smiled and
wrote, I'll carry you out every morning until death do us apart.



That evening I arrived home, flowers in my hands, a smile on my face, I
run up stairs, only to find my wife in the bed - dead.



The small details of your lives are what really matter in a
relationship. It is not the mansion, the car, property, the money in the
bank. These create an environment conducive for happiness but cannot
give happiness in themselves. So find time to be your spouse's friend
and do those little things for each other that build intimacy. Do have a
real happy marriage!



If you don't share this, nothing will happen to you.



If you do, you just might save a marriage.





Many of life's failures are people who did not realize how close they
were to success when they gave up.

"Why Gibo Teodoro?"

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Disclaimer: I do not own any part of this article. Nor do I own a copyright for this one. I just want to share the author's opinion to everyone simply because I also want Gibo to be the President. Btw, I got this from a note in facebook where I was tagged by a former classmate.

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Why Gibo Teodoro?
by: Noemi Lardizabal-Dado


Gibo Teodoro was never in my short list until I wrote How to select a candidate to vote for a president in May 10, 2010. I removed the Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo (GMA) factor in my criteria. Why? I believe that GMA acted the way she did during her term because her legitimacy as president is a big question mark. I should have added the evil GMA factor but I didn’t think it was important as long as there is no cheating in the 2010 elections. Just because a candidate is politically opposed to GMA does not mean he/she is the better candidate who is efficient and effective and able to spur the economy.


I asked my assistant whom she liked among the presidential candidates. See, I bring her along to Blog Watch presidential interviews. I thought she'd choose Dick Gordon or Manny Villar but she preferred Gibo. She liked that Gibo does not stall during the questions and answer portion. Though Gibo is impressive and eloquent, some of his answers left me wanting more.

I decided to get another perspective from someone who is already a Gibo supporter. It was easy to spot a Gibo Teodoro supporter in twitter. There is a small green banner proudly embedded in their avatar "Gibo 2010" . @noypi_bai willingly gave me the reasons for his support. He explained "Mr. Teodoro is definitely not perfect - he never said he is - and I may not always agree with some of his views on minor issues - but the reasons below assures me that he's certainly the best fit for the job." He lists them down:


10 reasons why I'm supporting and actively campaigning for Gibo:

1. because I love this country and as they say, we would always want what's (who's) best for those we love. I'm not supporting him out of fanaticism but patriotism.

2. because of his competence - no questions on this I know, no need to expound. What separates him from the also competent Mrs Arroyo? All the other items below.

3. because of his integrity & character. There's not even a hint of corruption in his many years of public service (must have gotten such values from his father). He's not the perfect speaker but I can always sense his honesty & sincerity every-time he answers questions during forums and interviews. He also didn't drop his affiliation with PGMA just to please the people who wanted him to join the PGMA-haters-club - though I'm not a supporter of Gloria I still think that such act of Gibo is very gentlemanly & commendable.


4. because of his clear vision and dreams for the country. He definitely knows what he's talking about....he knows his facts & figures to back-up his suggested plans. He doesn't promise heaven (unlike others) but feasible reforms to help the country soar high. His records show that he has always been an achiever - I believe he can & will do the same for our country.

5. because of his first-rate platforms of government.

6. because of his new kind of politics, not our usual trapo - proof: his positive campaign strategy. He is a very positive person, not a member of the Mudslingers' Club. He doesn't retaliate when his opponents put him down or throws black propaganda at him. And what's more amazing is that this kind of attitude cascaded to us, his supporters, reminding us to consciously avoid mudslinging, no matter how tempting it is at times. :-) We need a leader like him: humble, prudent, one who has the attitude that builds-up, not tear-down.

7. because of his sensible and SPECIFIC approach in battling corruption in the government. The other candidates promises total eradication of corruption but they don't present any systematic & specific plans on how to do it. He has already started this anti-corruption culture in DND (i.e. transactions with transparency & accountability to a third party from the business sector).

8. because he is a realistic leader - no messianic syndrome. He doesn't give false hopes to people. He doesn't give the "no-more-corruption" & "no-more-poverty" motherhood statements but is honest enough to tell the people: we will be heading there but it may take time.


9. because he can NEVER be a puppet president. It's funny that they envision Gibo to be a puppet of Gloria....if there's gonna be a possible puppet president among the top presidentiables, that's certainly NOT Gibo. He knows where he stands, his loyalty is to the people.

10. because he's the kind of leader who can heal our country's problem of divisiveness (esp. in politics) - this is his goal & I think he's starting this move through campaigning positively - avoiding possible conflicts as early as now. He has asked his supporters, "if I also put hatred and negativity in my heart, and practice mudslinging, how can I unite the nation when I become the president?"


Pat Mangubat added that it is rather unfair for people to judge and tag Gilbert Teodoro as a Mrs. Arroyo lapdog since his ideas are rather dissimilar with the incumbent president’s ideas. Teodoro perceives power as a tool for change; Mrs. Arroyo salivates for power for her ego. Teodoro wants real change; Mrs. Arroyo wants nothing more than get more than loose change. Teodoro has enormous faith in people; Mrs. Arroyo uses people."


Are you already supporting Gibo Teodoro? or is he in your short list or not?