I was at the shopping mall thinking of what to buy. It is that time of year again. I browsed through the Mens' section …. here I go again. What do men typically like?? I mean shopping for women is so much easier. But shopping for men is a challenge. Besides the unromantic golfing stuff, what else do they like… that I can afford? Skip the Ferrari please :)

7 years ago, we had our little budget Solemnization Ceremony. At a tiny hall at the bottom of my Condo. My unit was too small to hold a reception. It was a family only do.

Looking at it, 7 years does not seem that long to be married, but it did feel like a long time to me. Not that it was a bad 7 years or anything, just being relative to other timelines eg 10 years since I left school and started working, 15 years since I left secondary school, being married for 7 years is not a long time.

But it was a fabulous 7 years of marriage. Sure it has its share of ups and downs, like everything else. But we coped and survived. We are finally going to be parents. Conception was a long and difficult journey for us, but we are finally going to be a family.

Sometimes we do take each other for granted. Sure we do forget why we fell in love in the first place, why we wanted to spend forever together. But I always take the opportunity, during over anniversary to reflect and remember all this. Why we chose to grow old together. We vowed to help hold hands while crossing the streets, even though we are 60, look for each other's glasses, even though it is propped up in our hair, wondering where it is :)

My husband is my best friend, my pillar of strength, my shoulder to cry on. Reflecting on our down moments, he was always there. Being strong… for me. Yes I do take that for granted. "MEN!" as we always exclaim. "They never get it. They don't understand us women". But he was always there nevertheless, never giving up on me. In his own way, he was there for me, supporting me through the troughs of life.

At the shopping mall, in the end, I picked out a watch. It hardly says how much I appreciate our marriage, him being in my life. But I hope he likes it nevertheless.

Thank you for 7 wonderful years, thank you for being part of my life.

I love you Sayang.

Happy Anniversary.