#ULOG: Beyond Expectations

[_ I just though that having a family is as easy as those happy-ending stories and fairy tales. _]

But No.

It has a lot of ups and downs, twists and turns, gains and losses.

But one important thing I have learned is that being a mother, I have learned to appreciate how love can really be more than what you have thought of. Being a wife, I have learned to understand what patience means. Being a daughter, I have learned that parents' sacrifices are priceless. All these things have taught me much more than what I have expected.

I have learned how much my mother worries whenever I am sick when I was a kid. I have understood how my parents felt whenever I bring home something that they can be proud of. I understood how they tried their best everyday to work extra hard to feed the four of us and yet still have that strength and time to spend for us. I never really cared then, until I became a mother as well.

I have learned that love is not as simple as feeling warm within your partner's embrace. It's not just because you feel the excitement every time you are together. It's not just because you liked his smile, or his voice, or his sweetness or his humour. It will not suffice alone, but rather through time, you will learn that you both need to go beyond that. We have appreciated the beauty of unity and sharing of responsibility. We have learned how to value even the shortest moments of being together despite our work and responsibilities. We have learned how to give and take, and to understand the cores of our own weaknesses. We have learned to become stronger together to face every day. And we have learned how great God really is for everything that we have been through.

We are expecting to see more. But we are also hoping to get through them with God's guidance.