2009 that was!

A year and two months of no updation- I’m certainly not proud of the feat!

I’m not sure if there’s anyone out there to read this anymore. I have watched many a blog ebb away quietly and it was painful, especially if among those were my favourite ones. I want to sincerely apologise to my regular readers for not showing up with my ‘winged words’ for a long while. I’m not going to blame it all on the inevitable busyness of a homemaker cum working woman that I have become. Laziness got the better of me, and that remains the sole truth! Here’s an attempt to make up for the wait. No, I don’t promise an earth-shattering read ahead; I’ve always been cynical about radical come- backs.

So, where did I take you last? To the rugged cross that gives me hope for 2009? Well, the year has zoomed by and we are into a brand new one already, while I’m overwhelmed on realising that the hope has only grown bigger with time!

2009 was special- it was our first year of marriage!

We were warned by family, friends and well-wishers, at times, in vivid details, of the unpleasant side of marriage. “It’s not a bed of roses!” – Can you imagine, they still say it, irrespective of how wholly clichéd it sounds! “Just wait and see how long this ‘lovey doveyness’ would last”, remarked my well- meaning friend, on meeting us just two months after the wedding.

“To gel with another person with totally different tastes on practically everything in life is the biggest challenge”, “Men show their true colours only after wedding; you better be prepared for it”, “Don’t get carried away with all the sweetness in the beginning, life would only get harder after marriage”, “You know, sometimes you’d wish you were single”, “It’s not easy, marriage is suffering; take it in good spirit, though” “Smile all you can now, ‘cos there’s a lot of tears to handle after it”....this post would grow very long if I were to list all the precious pieces of unwarranted advice doled out to me, before and soon after wedding, in the hope that I would be better braced for this disaster called ‘marriage’!

And guess what, they were right- partially!

I did not find a bed of roses or a long-lasting ‘lovey doveyness’. To gel with a totally different person was a challenge and so was coping with his ‘true colours’. There were soiled clothes and dirty dishes, menus for breakfast, lunch and dinner (easier suggested than done), exasperating consultation with someone(husband) before you do anything, dealing with the new family...everything constituted the unpleasant side of marriage for me- just as they predicted!

Still, I was in for a surprise- a pleasant one!

They don’t tell you how many couples stay married; they only tell you how many are divorced. They don’t tell you how many remain in their jobs; they only tell you how many are fired. They don’t tell you how many kids are growing up in the fear of God; they only tell you how many go astray...they also don’t tell you how fantastic marriage is; they only tell you how hard it can get!

Believe me when I say it’s not all that bad as everyone makes it sound. My dear ladies, who are still waiting for the knight in shining armour, when somebody warns you “He’s got clay feet and the shine of his armour will get bleaker by the day ”, please retort, “ A clay footed knight in his worn out armour will do just fine for the equally flawed princess!” Bravehearts, by now you should know she’s got freckles behind that make-up, and that a freckle-free face will not make a trouble-free home; so don’t worry when someone snorts, “beauty is only skin-deep, beware!”

Marriage is a good thing and it will only do you good. Two is always better than one!

Sometimes, it takes marriage to know how stinking selfish you are and how repulsively proud! Sometimes, it takes to be married to learn to be more real than a smiley Christian on a Sunday morning. Sometimes, it takes two imperfect people to live together, for better, for worse, for richer, for poorer, in sickness and in health, to be able to see others through God’s eyes! Now, tell me, isn’t the unpleasant side of marriage fleeting in comparison with its pleasant counterpart?

So, 2009 has been a fantastic year for me and it’s only gonna get better!