The Best Love Storytellers I’ve Ever Known

(picture from here)

We have this family habit of having lunch together every Sunday. The primary members of the family all get together in our ancestral house in Manila. We’ve been doing that since I was a baby and it has become a very healthy practice for the members of the family. That’s because everyone get to be in touch with one another constantly. Even though it’s just a simple lunch (but the food is awesome), being on the same table with all your family members at least once a week is one effective way of getting involved with everyone’s life.

Because of this practice, I’m always updated with how are my uncles and aunts doing. From something as big as leaving the country to something as small as having a new puppy. I get to know all those things.

Storytelling never ends during Sunday lunch. We talk about anything and to anyone. We talk about politics, showbiz, personal life, and even love life. And it’s actually one exciting topic every time we’re there in that house where I spent the first 15 years of my life.

Love.

Why? Because it’s a chance for us to hear how did my dad court my mom or how did my uncle court my aunt or how did my grandfather court my grandmother. The last is the best.

I usually ask my grandpa how many girlfriends he had before. His answer is always the same. Just one. And that’s my grandma. And at the moment my grandma hears that, she’ll look at my grandpa and lightly slap him, telling everyone listening that it isn’t true and that grandpa had a lot of girlfriends. This of course is done in a very sweet and cute way.

I usually ask my grandpa how long did it take him to win my grandma’s heart. His answer is always the same. 2 weeks. My grandma upon hearing this will then again slap my grandpa, a little harder this time as she tells everyone that it’s not true and that my grandpa had to work it to win my grandma’s heart. She will usually tell us that my grandpa needed to walk a pretty long distance just to visit my grandma. She will proudly say that she gave him a hard time and that she never showed any sign that she liked him before.

My grandpa will then disagree and will tell us that grandma was very obvious and that he was wondering why won’t grandma answer yes already when it’s very clear that she likes him.

And then you hear another slap and it’s harder than the last one

We have this everyday Sunday lunch and I won’t exchange it for anything. There are actually a lot of stories which have been told and every time you get to hear one, you get this sensation that the romance and love that is shared between my grandparents are true, real, and timeless.

It was through these stories that I realized that the best love stories you’ll hear are the ones from your grandparents. You can feel simply from how is it told that the love that started when they were still young grew bigger and bigger as they got together, had a family, and are now happy grandparents. There is something with their stories that lets you realize that it is possible for love to be real and true. That it’s possible for love to be timeless and never-changing. It makes you confident that you are capable of giving and embracing that kind of love. Not just because you are related to the people telling them by blood but because of the mere fact that they did it and they proved it.

How can you be different to a human being just wanting to love and be loved in return? You can’t be any different.

My grandparents have been married for 51 years already and you can still see them happily in love.

I guess that’s the exact reason why are they the best love storytellers I’ve ever known.