A Valentine’s Day Message

My Dearest Love,

Forty-three years together have woven us into a single, stubborn, yet tender story – one that began with a simple hello, and grew into a lifetime of shared experiences, whispered assurances, and a quiet, yet firm resolve to walk as one. If I were to describe our days, I would say they are not counted in the years we spent together, but in the countless moments we held on to each other when the world grew heavy, and in the simple, daily acts of choosing each other again and again despite the distance.

Together, we created a family that has grown with us in patience and understanding. Our four blessings – Bianca, Carlo, Aly and Josh – have filled our home with love, laughter and so much learning. They – together with our fam’s latest additions, Freedom and grandson, Buchi – have brought in a pleasant madness I could not have imagined when I first laid eyes on you. Watching you grow as a wife, and later as a mother, has been one of my life’s greatest privileges. Your love shaped our children into people of character, compassion, and resilience, and I am endlessly grateful for the way you’ve guided them with grace and dignity.

We have walked through many hardships – moments when our road seemed rocky, when fear pressed close, and when we questioned how much more we could endure. Yet every obstacle also forged a stronger US: we learned to listen more deeply, to compromise without surrendering our core, and to find humor even in the most trying times. We learned to forgive, to repair with patience, and to dream with both feet planted firmly in the challenges of the present and eyes fixed on a brighter, yet realistic horizon. In our trials, your steadfast presence was a beacon of hope; your faith in us was the quiet engine that kept us – and our growing family – moving forward.

And now, looking ahead, my heart still races with the possibilities of our future. As I prepare for retirement with you in both the Gran Verde Farm and Balay ni Charing, I dream of more sunsets holding your hand firmly in mine, more conversations that stretch into the night, more adventures small and grand, and more moments that remind us why we chose this life together. I wish for days of health, joy, and shared wonder, I wish for the kind of future where Buchi and our other future grandchildren can fill our homes with their own laughter. And as for Buchi, I hope to still have the strength to be silly, to be nonsensical at times, to be patient; and for us, to be deeply brave for one another.

I will always love you, more so with every breath and every memory we’re building. You will forever be my harbor, my home, my heart. Happy Valentine’s Day, my dearest Wit.

With all my love,

Chay

For a closer look, just click on the pics.