Twenty-five years ago, we got engaged today.
We had known each other for six days.
Yes. SIX. 😅
Those were simpler times.
There were no red flags and green flags to analyse.
There was no Social Media University teaching us compatibility, attachment theories or telling us, “If he does these five things… RUN!” 😂
Thank God. At this rate, I might still have been analysing.
Instead, like they show in cartoons, a bulb lit over his head… and I just knew — this is the one. 💡
No research.
No reviews.
No trial period.
Just instinct… followed by a lifetime subscription with no cancellation policy. 😂
And just like that, Anita and Manoj began.
Then life took over.
I chose to stay back, build our home and raise our children.
He took on the responsibility of providing for us.
Different roles.
Same team.
There was never a scorecard of who did more, because while he kept one part of our world running, I kept another part running.
And between us, we somehow kept the entire show going.
Somewhere along the way, Anita and Manoj became Mamma and Papa.
Our two-member partnership became a full-fledged family organisation…
No fixed working hours.
No weekends.
No resignation policy.
And unfortunately, no HR department to complain to about each other. 😂
We built homes, raised children, handled families, finances, school, responsibilities, celebrations, festivals, decisions, emergencies… and approximately seventeen thousand conversations beginning with:
“But I thought YOU were doing it!” 😂
And then came the tides we never expected.
Losses that changed us.
Uncertainty that tested us.
Responsibilities that sometimes felt heavier than we were prepared for.
Plans that collapsed and had to be rebuilt.
Sometimes I carried him.
Sometimes he carried me.
Sometimes we carried each other beautifully.
And sometimes we had a proper argument first and then remembered we were actually on the same team. 😅
Because when the real battles came, there was never really your problem or my problem.
It was ours.
We may have fought with each other plenty 😂, but whenever life fought against us, we knew exactly which side we were on.
Ours.
Maybe that’s what 25 years have taught me.
Marriage isn’t two people living happily ever after.
It’s two people repeatedly looking at the latest situation life has dumped in their laps and saying:
“Okay. How are WE getting out of this one?”
And somehow… we always did.
We chose US when life was beautiful.
More importantly, we chose US when it wasn’t.
Today, Mamma and Papa sit discussing our children’s dreams, choices and futures.
And sometimes I wonder —
When did those two people who barely knew each other become this team that has handled an entire life together?
Twenty-five years.
So many versions of us.
So many tides crossed.
So many battles fought.
So much life lived.
And the show is still running. ❤️
Happy 25th Engagement Anniversary to us, Manoj.
And to that girl who saw an imaginary bulb over his head after six days and thought, “He’s the one”…
Your research methodology was terrible, Anita. 😂
But 25 years later, I’d say your instincts deserve a five-star review. 💡❤️
Blessmesai 