A gratitude of love

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Someone like you…
by Ainee Cha

Being with you over the last 20 years was most definitely a blast. We went through rainbows and sunshine, occasionally some weathered storm and rain.  I reckon that the thrilling adventure of our roller-coaster ride had not only brought us closer, but we emerged stronger and surpassed our blessings in many ways. When life brought us distress and turmoil, we held on to each other and made it through every storm and turbulence that was thrown to us. Today, on our 20th anniversary, I must declare that I am by far the luckiest woman in the world because I have you.

I want to say I am truly sorry for having taken you for granted. Nonetheless, you are the calm to my chaos, and the one who grounds me when I stray off the side road. You are the one who reminds me that everything will eventually work out to its best. You hold me close when I cry. Most of all, you didn’t give up on me. It’s this journey together that has made me realize the person I was longing for is someone like you…someone exactly like you. You are the one I solemnly want to spend the rest of my life with. I promise to never take you for granted. You are foremost the most desirable husband in the world and an amazing father to our children. You are ‘Simply Stunning’! In fact, you are phenomenal in many, many ways you never have thought; verified by both our children!

This is not just a love letter, my dear… I want to pen this down to tell you how much you meant to me in the best way I know how.

Before the beginning of our journey;

I had a dream, I was drowning and calling for help, there were no one there and I was scared. The dream was very vague, I could hardly breathe and then, as I opened my eyes, I saw you. I had that dream before we were together. It’s ironic isn’t it? I believe in faith, I believe in destiny, I believe we were meant for each other, and I believe that our marriage will never falter.

Our journey begins;

Somehow, somewhere along the way you showed up. The music in you attracted me and the coolness carefree spirit of you drew me to you even more; and till today it’s the same carefree spirit that drives me crazy… like a symphony of ‘love-and-hate’. Perhaps it’s an opposite attraction to start with, a perfect imperfection!

The day I decided to take that vow… and to be honest, I was terrified deep down. I was so because I was somewhat surrounded by marriages that didn’t quite worked out. And if you’d recall, I said to you; ‘If you decide to marry me, you are marrying my whole family’, which you did. You loved my family more than your own and I love you for loving us.

I will always remember the day when I asked you, ‘why do you want to marry me?’. Perhaps you may have forgotten, but every word you say means the world to me. You looked straight into my eyes; and as you kiss me goodnight, you whispered to me… you are ‘intelligently sexy’. You gave me no reason not to marry you. Honey, you are eccentric and full of surprises.

As our journey continues;

The bond between us grew even stronger. I know I can be demanding at times. Well, most of the time. But, I cannot deny the fact that you have tolerated lots of my demanding, nonsensical flaws and plenty of my imperfections. Not only did you make me feel like the most beautiful woman in the world, you make me fall in love with you even more each time when I feel vulnerable. Like any married woman with kids, I was probably not sexy anymore on our 10th anniversary. I remembered asking you what’s in me that make you love me. You answered with two words again, and you said; ‘pleasantly plump’. Your honest sincerity lifted me up once more. Your words somehow elevates my spirit and rejuvenates me.

Here goes the demanding me; I recalled asking you to describe me in TWO words on our 15th anniversary. You simply blew my mind off! ‘Maturely sensual’, I was flattered. How not to fall in love with you again? You are most certainly my strength when I am weak, and my laughter when I am sad … the one and only real treasure I could ever ask for.

The say the least, the past two years hasn’t been easy at all. It feels like we’ve hit a milestone on a long hard road… so much more than the previous years. I am truly amazed by the turn of events we have been through. It has been an honest struggle in certain ways, but an overall triumph at the end of the day… more like a significant growth from the inside out. I’ve learnt so much more about you, and through you, I’ve also come to rediscover myself.

This 20th anniversary is a silent, and tranquil moment of gratitude.

A gratitude to Buddha’s grace for seeing two imperfect humans through another year.

A gratitude to my parents, and my siblings for accepting you.

A gratitude to you for loving my parents and my siblings.

A gratitude for the challenges we faced together.

A gratitude to you for humbling yourself to make me shine.

A gratitude to you for the tremendous effort you’ve put into our family.

A gratitude to you for your patience with me.

A gratitude to you for your forgiveness, and your unwavering love.

A gratitude to our children for showing us what love is….

The journey yet to come;

I want our two precious children, our future grandchildren, and perhaps our great-grandchildren to know how much we have put into our marriage, so they too can learn to love their life partner just the way you love me unconditionally.

“Most people get married believing a myth, that marriage is beautiful box full of all the things they have longed for; companionship, intimacy, friendship. The truth is that marriage, at the start, is an empty box. You must put something in before you can take anything out. There is no love in marriage; love is in people, and people put it into marriage. There is no romance in marriage; people have to infuse it into their marriages. A couple must learn the art, and form the habit of giving, loving, serving, praising– keeping the box full. If you take out more than you put in, box will be empty.” –J. Allan Petersen


I cannot wait to see what the future holds for us, but I love you with all my heart… in the end, it takes TWO to keep the box full; and another TWO words to keep me going!

i LOVE you honey & Happy Anniversary!


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