Vanilla Ice Cream

Today marks the ninth year of my crazy, roller coaster relationship with my Mr. Curly Top.

It's amusing to see some people's reactions when they learn about my "very long engagement" with my guy. The exclamations of disbelief are exaggerated, bordering on comical. Sometimes it's a pain to have to explain to people how come we've been together this long yet we haven't settled down yet. There are those who are merely curious and mildly interested. These types are easy to handle. I give them a simple and brief explanation and they immediately get it. But every once in a while I would encounter someone who seems to have a better idea of how to live my life for me, and would insist on coaching me on what I should be doing, forcing their own views on how things should run in my world. I tolerate those people as best as I could. After all, everybody is entitled to their own opinion.

It was especially tedious today. It came to a point when someone analogized that it's like I'm eating vanilla ice cream everyday, since I've been with the same guy for nine long years, and I've never been with any other boy before that. This person believes it's laughable that I never gave myself the chance to try the other ice cream flavors out there. As soon as I heard that comment, I turned around and snapped, "Yes, we're a vanilla kind of couple, but I guarantee that our vanilla life is anything but bland and boring. The variety of flavors that we can cook up with our vanilla tandem would blow you away!"

I didn't really do that.

It crossed my mind, but since I'm a peace-loving citizen of Makati, I didn't. I just grinned and quietly committed homicide in my imagination.

I thank the heavens for the handful of friends who've known us the longest, those who were there to witness the budding of this romance, because I never feel the need to explain and defend myself to them. They just stand by us in the passing of the years, happy in our triumphs and supportive during our occasional breakdowns. I am also thankful for new friends who don't really know my Curly Top that well yet, but they can understand that I am happy with the life that I share with him.

Cheers to 99 more years!