So much happiness!

Post-ceremony.
For this, there are no words. Just smiles all around, and hearts bursting with joy ♥

My glowing husband ❤

My new Dad :) 

So much happiness!

With my husband, walking up to the Little Knight's Room, where dinner would be served 

My cousin Ali

Shank, Daniel, myself, Diana, Ali

My cousin Ali is one of the kindest and most caring people I know. He doesn't feature in many of the photographs, because he spent much of the day making sure everything was running just fine. That was quite a feat, especially considering he had just come in the morning of the wedding.

I'm sure his duties and sacrifices are more numerous than were tasked to him - together with Liyana, he helped with the table arrangements and the flowers, including the decision to move our apero into the castle instead of out on the lawn (we were told there was a 15 to 75% chance of rain - a really difficult range to base a decision on). He thoughtfully bought me lunch even though I didn't ask for it, and spent the majority of the ceremony sitting on a stone step at the back of the venue, independently running the AV equipment. 

What I like most about Ali is how warm and real he is. He has a good heart, and a high sense of moral integrity, which both impresses me, and inspires me. Even though he practices kindness, he is also courageous, and perseveres in standing up for his beliefs. Our families have always lived in different countries, but when we were younger we used to visit each other a lot more than we can now. Still, it always feels cosy catching up, and I am very grateful to have such a loving cousin in my life, and that he was a part of a very special moment, in his characteristically self-sacrificial style ♥.

A short reflection on the past year(s)

At our anniversary last year ♥

A few weeks ago, we visited the little village at which we tied the knot. It was the first time we had been back since we exchanged vows in the herb garden shaded by four beautiful trees, which still stand witness to the day. This time, the church bells did not ring, and the birds were a lot more quiet - as if giving us a space a to reflect on the beautiful two years that have gone by. It was an interesting moment - visiting the spaces holding our memories, and retracing our steps: the endless stairway through the rose garden finally leading up to our castle, the stone-strewn aisle, the beautiful garden flowers flanking our ceremony, the ledge that looked on to a graveyard by the church, the passageways I tried to escape to to practice my surprise song for him (but failed, because he sweetly followed me around, thinking I was having the jitters), the hallway where my make-up artist gave me sagely advice while making  me beautiful.. I could really go on forever. It was a fairy-tale like I could never imagine, filled with so much laughter and love.

The lake near our home - so beautiful.

It has been almost 2 years to the day we got married now, and so much has happened in both our lives. We have been reunited for a year now, and have moved 4 times since. Home feels a lot more stable,  a little apartment in another little 'village', furnished with the kindness of other people - a beautiful piano and various trinkets, donated to us by a lovely lady looking for a good home for furniture from her childhood, a statement lamp from a professor who heard about student's moving home, and plants from our thoughtful neighbours. Hopefully this represents the last of moves for a long time to come.

Welcoming him home - Daniel's first trip to Sg since the wedding

We've come to appreciate having to spend our first year apart, as painful as it was. On hindsight, it was a sweet experience -- the excitement of seeing each other, the intense sadness of having to be apart once more, and counting down again to the our next reunion. "The gift of missing me", Daniel would say. Now, I look forward to when he comes back from work, so we have our few hours of the day together, and weekends, when I have him all to myself for 2 days straight (such a bounty!).

I spend most of my time pouring over acadaemic papers, while Daniel is hard at work. We spend our time together mostly doing the laundry, grocery shopping, cooking and cleaning (weekends being an especially intense effort at good housekeeping).

People I love cooking for me! Daniel's learning how to make roti from my mom. He's also makes a mean chicken curry (thanks Rashi for teaching him!), dahl and random Indian vegetable dishes :) 

We've learnt to fill each other's longing for the homes and countries we have left behind. We spend our nights reflectively, joyfully learning together how to be good people. We continue trying to support each other's dreams, to honour our differences, and to not take our relationship for granted.

Like our wedding, there have been few grand gestures, only little things. Thankfully our little things are of the loving kind. Today, I felt so immensely loved when he emptied the dishwater before leaving the house, even though he was on his way to catch an early morning flight. He really didn't have to, but he wanted one less thing for me to do while he was away, and it was so thoughtful.

I didn't expect our love to deepen everyday the way it has. I didn't even know we could be any closer. I wonder how much love our hearts will hold when we are a hundred.. I wake up feeling so thankful, and go to bed feeling blessed and loved.

..because a tribute to the past year would not be complete without a throwback to the time he decided to break the other leg, you know, to balance out the injuries.

I recall dark days in my life, when I felt my world was falling apart. Daniel would meet me after work (which was very late when I worked at the hospital), and be the friend I could lean on. And I remember thinking, no matter how the world conspired against me, as long as we had each other, I would be alright. It still feels very much that way. I'm glad we meet our obstacles together, and I am so happy for having you in my life. You are, by far, the best husband I could ever ask for ♥.