The day before the big day was stressful for me.  I couldn’t eat and couldn’t sleep. It was crazy combination of excited anticipation and worried apprehension.  I had a lot of things on  my mind when I woke up that morning but the main thing was that he would be able to get there on our wedding day.  I was nervous and kept on praying that I wouldn’t embarrass my family.  I was also hoping that he would still love me after he saw me for the first time in person.  What if he changed his mind at the last minute?  The wedding details in particular had already been made and paid for.  As I stood there outside the airport there were just four hours left before the wedding ceremony was about to start.  My family in the village were already on their way to the city and even my aunt & her husband from Guam had made the long flight to be there for my big day.  Was he really going to be there?  Had he made the flight from Manila?  Was I really going to see him for the first time, or was this all just a crazy dream?

It was midday of 22nd of April, 2005 and it was somewhat of a shock when he stepped off the plane into the ninety degree and humid weather of my native southern Philippines.  It was a big shock just having left his northern Minnesota home where the ice had just melted from the lakes and traces of snow drifts could still be found.  I was relieve when I finally saw him coming out of the aircraft.  He was easy to spot at 6′4 and 280 lbs.  He stood head and shoulders above most of the rest of the passengers.  Suddenly it felt like the weight of the world had just lifted from me.  A big sigh of relief came gushing out.