Pre Cana seminar

Despite the throbbing toothache (thankfully the swelling has subsided so I don't look like Marlon Brando in "Godfather") I had to wake up early today to attend the Pre Cana seminar at the Edsa Shrine.

Being an early bird I was there at 8 am since it was scheduled at 8:30 and surprisingly for once, D got there ahead of me. Heh he is learning to be more punctual, good boy! Of course by 8:30 the doors to the little hall were still closed and there were only 3 of us standing outside in the stifling humidity melting like ice cream.

I believe it got rolling at around 9 something after all 7 couples had registered and taken our seats in the airconditioned tiny hall for our seminar on marriage and parenthood. Tita Miny was our speaker/counsellor. A bubbly lady who has been married for 43 years so I reckon she knows what marriage is all about.

But first the guys had to introduce themselves and their partners, how we met and what we like about our significant others. D told them he likes me for being very understanding and loving towards him. I said I like that he puts God first above everything else and he accepts me for who I am, period. D also mentioned that we met in November 2005 yet didn't elaborate where, when or how. Thankfully he wasn't probed. Because frankly that is our abbreviated version since the real story is rather complicated and full of dramatic moments. We don't need to further explain how we met on Friendster end of 2005, he disappeared for a year due to some issues. Then we reconnected last year online, met for real sometime April 2007 and promptly got engaged making it sound like some whirlwind romance. A love connection of two people who had basically given up on the idea of marrying someone, anyone for that matter. We were resigned to a fate of blessed singlehood till we withered into our old age, reminiscing about lost loves - you see? I told you it was complicated!
But honestly I think it is a rather romantic tale filled with Internet connection, a friendship fueled by text messages and real life dramatic yet lovingly mature moments but D being the non sentimental type doesn't concur with me.

So back to the seminar, she discussed the foundations of a good marriage, its different aspects with some interaction with the attendees. Then the second part was on parenthood complete with a graphic chart illustrating the Billings Ovulation method. It was rather fascinating, vital information for parents to be. I can't wait to practice this method. Teehee!


The last part was a group discussion where we had to answer some multiple choice questions individually based on our expectations from marriage then compare the results with our partners to see if we had the same answers. I am proud to say that overall D and I had the same answers to the questions, give and take a few mistakes which can still be further discussed as we approach our wedding day. I figure it helps that we were the oldest pair in the group or it just stems from the fact that D has always been the openly communicative type of person or I always probe to discuss every little thing about our relationship, our life and everything else in between.

So whatever the reason that we 'passed' the question and answer portion, the fact remains that marriage is going to be a major adjustment for both of us. A journey of discovery with its high ups and extremely low downs but with God's help and D's unrelenting optimism and my very charming personality, we are ready to face each day as it dawns, together. =)