Maricar Baltazar

When I think of Marc, I think first of the person she was before I think of the years we shared. I remember a young woman at PhilBank, a bank in Manila with a beautiful smile, cheerful eyes, a warm personality, and a strength that became more apparent the more I came to know her. We began as coworkers and friends. What began so casually eventually became a relationship that would shape the rest of my life.

Marc was loving, caring, generous, and deeply grounded. She was also strong-willed and direct, never afraid to say what she thought or to accept when something simply wasn't meant to be. One of her favorite expressions was, "Kung ayaw mo, huwag mo"—if it isn't meant to be, let it go. I admired that quality in her because she understood something I would continue to learn throughout our life together: some things cannot be forced, and sometimes the wisest thing we can do is accept what life gives us.

We laughed a lot. Even when we argued, our disagreements rarely lasted because something funny would inevitably break the tension. I remember holding her hand everywhere we went and the simple comfort of having her rest her head on my shoulder or chest.

I also remember the ordinary moments that, looking back, became extraordinary simply because they were ours.

For more than three decades, Marc was my companion, my partner, my best friend, and the person with whom I shared the ordinary and extraordinary parts of life. She taught me through the way she lived: to be generous, to be strong, to laugh often, and to let go when letting go was necessary.

When I remember my Marc today, I choose to remember all of her—not only the difficult years or the final chapter, but the young woman I first met in 1989, the woman who held my hand, made me laugh, challenged me, loved me, and built a life with me.

Our life together was not perfect, and it was never supposed to be. It was real, sometimes difficult, often funny, and filled with more love than I could have imagined when I first said hello to her.

I am grateful that I met her.

I am grateful that she chose me.

And I will always be grateful that, for more than thirty years, I was able to call her my wife.

Hector Baltazar