marriage

The other night, we were arguing over whether to use a stand fan or a ceiling fan and we both lost our cool and went to bed without speaking with each other. I know, it was so silly. Ang babaw! But you never realize the silliness until afterwards when you’ve had a chance to cool down. So, yesterday, he came home with a box of chocolates and fig newtons.

It’s not that I demand that the apology be in the form of a gift, it’s just that he expresses himself better that way and it helps break the ice. Thing is, Sam and Alex have gotten used to this routine.

Continue reading 'Love means you should say you’re sorry' →

A law passed in Arkansas inadvertently inserted the word “not” with the result that the age restriction was removed and literally allowed toddlers to marry.

Continue reading 'For a while there, even 10-year-olds could marry in Arkansas' →

Over a month ago, I wrote a column that was inspired by Gabriele Pauli’s proposal to limit marriage to seven years — with an option to renew, of course. I won’t repeat the issues I raised save to say that the permanence of marriage is more of a religious/cultural characteristic rather than a legal one.
In [...]

Continue reading 'Forced marriages, arranged marriages' →

It was Juan and Juana’s wedding. The church assistant was having problems with the groom’s parents as to what should be the place of each in the wedding processional. Normally, it’s a de-kahon solution. If it’s a traditional wedding, the parents wait at the alter with the groom. If it’s a modern wedding, the groom [...]

Continue reading 'The wedding processional' →

A month ago, when I read Noemi’s entry about finding THE ONE, two things came to mind. First was an old, old entry by Batjay that says if you can pick your nose in the presence of a girl and she doesn’t mind, then, you have found the one. The second is a batch of [...]

Continue reading 'Cheese cookies and pancit lomi' →

My parents separated when I was in Grade 2. My brother and I grew up with our mother although all throughout college, I would spend long weekends with my father and even weeks during summer breaks. Because we didn’t live in the same house, he was the last member of my family to meet Speedy. [...]

Continue reading 'In celebration of Father’s Day, part 2: The day I told my father I was getting married' →

A few nights ago, driving home from my mother-in-law’s birthday dinner, Sam was whining from the backseat when she was going to get a new digital camera. I said I didn’t know. I had just paid her tuition for the entire year and I felt that my bank book was deflated — and I mean, [...]

Continue reading 'So, surprise me on Mother’s Day' →

If you’re old enough (like I am) to remember TV host Pepe Pimentel, one of his favorite subjects for his jokes was his mother-in-law. My father used to say that Pimentel must either genuinely hate his mother-in-law’s guts or their relationship must be so good that the old lady would treat the jokes as nothing [...]

Continue reading 'How’s your relationship with your mother-in-law?' →

Years ago, I remember a cousin who insisted that a mental retardate could enter into a valid marriage. When asked where she got that idea, she referred to a film that starred Vilma Santos. I saw that movie. Vilma Santos’ character was pregnant with Ricky Davao’s (his film character, that is) baby but his mother, [...]

Continue reading 'In marriage, what does “consent” mean?' →

It’s our 16th Valentine’s Day together, 15 of which as a married couple. But our last Valentine’s Day dinner was 16 years ago when we were still dating. Speedy picked me up from a three-day seminar then we went to Dean’s St. in Greenhills for dinner. Afterwards, we went to a bar called Yesterday where [...]

Continue reading 'Speedy Valentine' →