11 good years alreadi...Oh God...We are blessed!

Guess wat, today is exactly 11th anniversary for Yingwei & myself. We have been together since 1996. Time realli flies! It may seems to be long to some people. But at least to both of us, we find that these 11 years are not as long as it seems. I cannot say that we have a very smooth relationship throughout these years.

There are Ups and Downs always, at different stages of our relationship.

To keep our relationship going, we agreed to have open communication, ie. there is always room for discussion for all kinds of problems. There is no such thing of unsolved problem. I recalled that when we first started our relationship, I used to be rather self-centred, always demanding him to keep me accompanied, leaving little time for himself. Not that i am defending myself, this was normal for me as he was enlisted into NS, right after we got together. However, somehow, we managed to talk it out (of course, after a few quarrels), strike a balance and sort of the differences. I agree that the beginning stage was not an easy one. We are two very different individuals. He is a superb outdoor person while i perfer to stay at home most of the times. There were instances that i broke down because I could not accept the differences between the both of us. I knew he was also battling these issues within himself. Luckily, we both learnt to accept each other's interests and differences. In fact, after so many with him, i am a better person now. Meaning that i am not so "slack". I was someone who did not like to do things alone as i am born in a big family with 3 elder siblings, looking after and giving in to me. I am extremely afraid of loneliness. He helped me to change for the better. He encourages me to be more daring and try new things. I learnt to be more independent and can do things by myself, without relying on other people. I can go jogging and shopping alone. In fact, i enjoy being alone sometimes. This may sound weird to some, but truly, it is nice to be alone sometimes. I recalled there were times that we argued over the issue of "Your Friends are MORE IMPORTANT than mi" - quoted my own words. Because of me, he also missed out a number of gatherings with his friends. Of course, he really yearned to go for his gatherings, but because of me, he chose not to go. Looking back, i found myself really unreasonable and selfish. But i have changed for the better now. We found a compromise for each other. To let him go for his gatherings and at the same time, i can be by his side, i need to go to the gatherings with him too. Being a timid and low self-esteem person, the initial stage was bad. I dun feel comfortable at all. I dun know his friends and yet have to maintain a happy face all the times. As time passes, the more we go for gatherings together, i sort of got used to these newly-found friends. I began to enjoy meeting new friends. This also helps to build my confidence in myself.
After so many years, i am now his personal secretary. Whenever he is not in town, i am always picking up diverted calls from his friends & insurance companies. I can now say that I know and can get along with most of his friends. Some of his friends are also good friends of mine too. Isn't that great?

Despite our years of getting together, we both agree that there are always new challenges along the way. As a married couple, we must look at the big picture and discuss over the issues calmly. We should not let any issue snow-ball and become BIG Problem. By then, it will be 10 times tougher to solve. Of course, it is easier to say this, but difficult to carry out. Just one way that i calm myself down whenever i am mad with him, i always think of the goodness in him and the happy times that we both spent together. Indeed, we have lots of happy moments together over the years. We should treasure each other. Destiny brought us together as a couple. But to keep the relationship going, it can only depend on both of us. We have to be truthful, trust and listen to each other always. The both of us still have a long way to go and alot of obstacles to overcome. I hope to walk with him till the end of my road. Hee! May God Bless Us!