“Love, like a river, will cut a new path whenever it meets an obstacle.” – Crystal Middlemas. How very true! If you have not experienced this, then you have not really loved the way Middlemas describes it.
When I was a teenager, I dreamed of marrying an intelligent, beautiful and rich girl. When I became a teenager, I sought that girl in the playground, in church, in the market place and in parties. But I did not find her there. Instead, I found her in college many years later. I first saw her in the auditorium playing a lilting musical piece on the piano. I did not know her then nor did I bother to introduce myself.
One Saturday afternoon during one of our social activities in college, I saw her walking down the stairs, so beautiful in her party dress. She introduced herself to me as a courtesy because her father was the boss of my father. In turn I was nice to her because my father was the subordinate of her father. It was in this light that we started our friendship, a friendship that blossomed into love. She was sixteen but I was not seventeen. I was seven years older than she. That age gap did not stop us from falling in love.
Like me she also belonged to the top ten scholars of the college. She came from a very rich family from the province of Antique. She was very beautiful. She was a poet. She was a painter. I found a beautiful, intelligent and rich girl. How could I let her go?
I married her when she turned seventeen. To make this happen, we created a lot of drama that left the family no choice but to marry us off. We were also good actors!
The wedding party lasted three days. This was so because her family was politically connected and had to entertain the whole province.
That was 43 years ago.
Today my wife and I have raised eight children, a boy and seven girls. Our son, the firstborn, is a nurse. Our first daughter holds a doctor of philosophy degree from Stanford University after a BA from UC Berkeley and an MFA from UCLA. The second earned a doctor of philosophy degree from the UC Berkeley. The third is completing her MBA from Mills College after a BA from UC Berkeley. The fourth holds a JD from UC Davis Law School. The fifth is on her second year of a five-year full scholarship to earn a Ph. D. in anthropology from Harvard University. All are renowned in their fields of expertise. A Google search will reveal their works. The last two girls stay home with us and are attending a community college in Henderson, NV.
Contrary to the usual logical conclusion, life, the way we have been living it, has not been all a bed of roses. There have been countless obstacles that came our way. Somehow, love always found a way through. The love that we share...like a river, always cut a new path whenever it met an obstacle. My indiscretions, her wanton spending, our irresponsible decisions and all the other ugly detractions remain no match to this surging river of love.
Why does this love surge like a river? In my considered opinion, this is due to the spiritual tenets on which it is founded. Jesus, our Lord and Savior, is the focal point of this love. This love will endure because Jesus lives!
Who is this love that I so cherish? Her name is Cecilia, my kantutay flower who has remained so young-looking and beautiful; my prolific poet and writer; my concert pianist; my intelligent and creative woman; my gifted artist-painter; the mother of my eight accomplished children. She successfully combined raising a family and working a career.
Ces and I do not have the monopoly of a storied love. You, too, have yours.
On this month of friendship, let us each cherish the love!
