great weekend

(Warning: This entry is sappy and very very cheesy. Proceed with caution. Read at your own risk.)

It's been a great, great birthday weekend.

Yesterday was family day. After watching the new Zorro flick, we came back home for a hearty family dinner to celebrate my birthday. Greetings all around and some presents came my way too. All in all a great evening-- relaxed and steady.. Tomorrow will also be family day-- his naman. Hehe :)

Today, though, was devoted to the two of us. After a spa treat (sarap ng massage-- aaaaahhhh), Dennis and I went to The Chocolate Kiss Cafe along Roces Ave in QC. (Check out http://www.thechocolatekiss.com for more details on this fabulous restaurant.) We both loooooved the food, especially the dessert-- and the price was great too, we ordered 5 dishes between the two of us and spent a little over P600! Wow, what a deal! It was a great date, reminiscent of our first fancy-restaurant date, where good food was abound and so was great conversation.

This great conversation I speak of started with some reminiscing on the part of my beau. He had spent most of his childhood in the QC area, having lived in their family's first house along Scout R (I forget exactly what R stands for... All I remember is R) for the first 22 years of his life. He told me of the benefits of living in that area-- it's secure, it's near all the important places (grocery, school, church, restaurant strip, mall and gym), it's close enough to the highway and is accessible to most nearby cities. Prior to heading to Chocolate Kiss, we actually passed by this old house, whom they had sold to a Filipino family, where he proudly showed off their huge gate and the lavish exterior of the Spanish-style home. It really looked like a nice house, judging from the outside look. He also painted a picture of the interior for me, so I can fully appreciate the beauty he saw in the place.

As I listened, I found myself getting carried away in his story. He recounted the many memories he had in that place, leading up to the day he heard of the sad news of its sale. He told me about how he and his brother would run up to the attic and play countless children's games... He recounted the many times he ran up and down the driveway, anticipating his dad's arrival from work. He told me happy stories, sad stories, and even the mundane, ordinary ones.. He obviously loved the place.

Instinctively, I said "let's buy back the place and live there!" He looked up in surprise, "Really? But you always said you can't imagine yourself living up North, coz you're a Southern girl..."

The next thing I said surprised me as much as it did him. I said, "But I want our kids to grow up in the same place you did." The actual words didn't surprise me as much as how much I meant them. From his stories I saw how much that house meant to him, and I realized I wanted him to get it back. True, the South has always been my home. But now that I'm with him, I realize home will always be where he is. So if that place is up North, so be it.

He looked so happy I thought his eyes were about to well up. But in typical Dennis fashion, he looked away and changed the topic. But before he did, I caught the smile that told me my statement made him happy. Which made me even happier. Because I meant what I said. I really did.

Hay, this is what life is really about. Spending it with someone you love so much that life just won't be life without him.

On my 23rd birthday weekend, that's my biggest learning. Love is what you make it to be.