rowie

read your e-mail this morning. oh my. it's really your last day as a single woman today. i only realized that today.

while the last two weeks i've been here, the female bonding was a blast. it was fun thinking of ways to look pretty and imagining the day after the wedding night (yes, the next morning) and trying to figure out how to walk in high heels without tripping (that's just me)... today finally made me realize how real tomorrow is.

which just made me feel nostalgic.

memories of the good old days when we were running through the quadrangle while it was raining and the rest of the ateneo were filling edsa walk to the brim. and gross as it was, we hung our socks to dry at the lib steps for all the world to see. or those nights hanging out at bellarmine field watching the stars discussing things that girls usually talk about. or those four hour phone conversations chatting about everything, most especially boys and how hard it is to understand them. or those years when i was a constant fixture in your house, yet never got to figure out the bhagwan water heater.

the last few years have not been as power packed as the beginning, but despite the distance you have always been there. in spite of not being in the same place at the same time, you were able to make me feel that the miles is nothing fear. and even if i don't like manila anymore, the way you were steadfast with our friendship is one of the reasons why i still look forward to going back once in a while.

and wow. tomorrow, we will be witnessing a new chapter of your life. something totally different from those tangible memories i have of you.

tomorrow, everybody will stand in awe as you walk towards God and the man you love. you will not be simply gliding from the church door to the the altar. you will be walking that journey that began on december 11, 2002 (i remember as you were so confused the next day... bellarmine third floor). tomorrow, you will be saying YES, I DO to a never-ending journey with mike, who in the last three and a half years has shown how he has embraced and loved you and those who surround you.

how can i not cry? cry because of nostalgia and because of joy. one of my bestest friends has taken a definitive choice for herself. and i can't help but be glad that you let me witness it up close.

love you too rowena. things will be different, but i'm sure things won't change either. i know this will be one of the happiest days of your life.