Anniversary

Sophie: But when do you stop to think about me?

Benedict: Every moment of every day. There is not a single moment you do not fill my mind… The thought of spending a single day without you torments my soul.

I have watched many shows together with my girlfriend over the last two years, and of all of them, it seemed fitting to start this by quoting an exchange from the latest season of Bridgerton. Every minute of that show I was glancing over towards her to see her reaction to a line, or a situation, or the visuals. Bridgerton was her Super Bowl with the amount of pacing around the living room that was happening. I loved every minute of it. I was keenly interested in the show as well, but I found myself wanting to watch her watch it more than the actual show. I can’t wait for more Bridgerton now, but only if I can watch it with her.

This last year, the second year of our relationship together, was a common thread. There were a lot of fun experiences together. The more we did, the more I thought I wouldn’t want to be doing these things with anyone else. Every moment together, good or bad, always felt like this is the person I should be sharing this experience with. We shared a lot of fun moments and I found myself intently looking at her to see how she was responding to them. I touched on a lot of those experiences in my birthday post, but some of the better experiences happened afterwards in the new year during a trip to the Philippines and Bangkok, Thailand.

I could easily focus on that trip experience, but that would be unfair to her. Everything I experienced there was mainly because of her. Honestly, she should become a travel agent focused on Southeast Asia because she knows the cultures and foods so well. I put my trust in her to pick out the restaurants and activities to do together, and each was memorable. However, when I think about everything we did there, I keep thinking about how I experienced it with her.

After a three-hour flight from the Philippines, I landed in Bangkok. Navigating the airport then metro station to get to our hotel in Chinatown was a challenge. Without her, it would have taken me much longer to reach that destination, and I easily would have been taken advantage of by the money exchangers. Who would have thought that the different kiosks in the airport would offer different rates depending on their proximity to the arrival gates? She certainly did and found the right ones to go to without much effort.

Walking around Bangkok with her was fun and different. I was well aware of my surroundings and how to get around or find places to eat after exploring Kelowna, Vancouver, and to a lesser extent Tofino. In Bangkok, I relied exclusively on her. It takes a lot to put your full trust in someone when you’re not in a familiar spot. At the beginning, I probably pushed back too much on things, but by the end of the week there I was more comfortable letting go.

On that trip, I started to fully understand what it means to be in a relationship. I don’t think of myself as a selfish partner, but being there helped me build that trust in her and also set aside my ego to do things that she really enjoyed. I began to find more joy and happiness seeing her being fulfilled by things like visiting the Platinum Fashion Mall with around 3,000 mini-stores or Iconsiam, Asia’s second largest mall. Both of those places were quite overwhelming for me, honestly. I only survived because I was focused on helping her find things to buy in the mini-stores or looking around at the surroundings at Icon while doing my best to ignore all the people.

I had a similar experience on the streets of Chinatown, the various night markets we went to, and the temples within Bangkok. I found myself enjoying all the little things she spotted in the stalls, or finding the perfect photo opportunities- especially on Song Wat Road in Chinatown. Despite it being her first time visiting Bangkok, she showed me all the best spots. She surpassed that with what she showed me in her home city and BGC in Manila.

Overall, the time spent in Bangkok and later in the Philippines was an incredible experience for us, and I will write more about them in time. After a month apart, she returned to Kelowna at the end of February to settle back into our life here. That allowed us to celebrate her birthday and our anniversary together with a night at Sparkling Hill.

That night with her took me back to the trip a few months prior. I loved walking through the incredible space with her to notice all the little things. It was a magical night full of surprises that we both quite enjoyed. From relaxing in the numerous steam baths and saunas, to the hot tub and infinite pool, to a delicious meal at PeakFine restaurant at the hotel, and finishing off with a very good breakfast before departing for home.

Remember that line earlier about every moment experienced with her felt like it should be experienced with her? We had a funny moment to start the day (maybe a little stressful for one of us) when we left to go play pickleball (a new thing for us) and I forgot to bring the paddles (before leaving the parking lot, thankfully). After we left for Sparkling Hill, we reached Starbucks only for me to discover that I forgot my phone. So after a delayed start, we arrived an hour behind schedule only for her to discover that she had forgotten my anniversary gift. A comedy of errors that we will both remember for a very long time.

This past year was full of memories with her and lessons for me on how to continue to be a better partner. There have been challenges that needed to be worked through for someone who was single for a very long time, but she has been with me through that muddy path guiding me along for a better future. I have cherished every minute with her and can’t wait to spend more time with her again when apart at work or separated by an ocean.

Happy second anniversary, my asawa.