When I see old couples still together after long years, I admire them and know in my heart how they went out through a lot to nurture that love. It is because I am a witness to the struggles of one such couple – my parents.
Mama was 21 and Papa was 24 when they got married. They were so in love with smoke in their eyes, and a sweet song in their hearts and had vowed “to LOVE each other till death will they part”.
One year after, I was born… and the problems started to appear. The added responsibility of taking care of me, had left them very little time for themselves. They love each other though and had always tried to find solutions to their problems. Yes, they had numerous fights too; about numerous things – but in the end – they had always forgave and understood each other.
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Years passed and the family grew. We became 5, then 6, then 7 and then finally 12.
( a lot huh!..lol) and the problems multiplied too as the family grew. Emotional problems , financial problems (we were not filthy rich) and relationship problems came into the picture; not only with me and my siblings but with both of them. There were times , I heard them raised their voices against each other and sometimes I could hear my mother cry. These occurrences kept me too awake into the night… thinking…wondering… what might be happening inside their room.
But when morning came and I glanced at them surreptitiously during breakfast, they were talking pleasantly as if nothing happened. That would give me so much relief that I would go to my room and cry. I was so happy, they were able to resolve their “issues”.
There were times though, that the “fight” lasted for days, and these were the days that I prayed hard and long. In spite of these all, their love always triumphed. They always resolved their problems – our problems. I could see that they had learned to forgive and to compromise. They had learned to focus on the nobleness of their love and not on their shortcomings.
When I see them now, still sweet to each other – a 76 yr old man and a 73 yr. old woman holding hands – I smile and recall the trials and tribulations they went through to be able to stay together. They fought hard for their love, even when it seemed the love has gone. They had been against insurmountable odds and they had emerged victors. Because of this, their love grew more and transcended their human frailty and defects.
To mama and papa. I salute both of you.
