The Importance of One Plate

My partner Alex and I eat from the same plate.

This isn't a figure of speech, It's very literal. Save for the occasional flu (or, in my case, cat bite and anti-rabies shots), we make it a point to use only one plate as our main dish, so to speak.

Honesty
One reason for this is, as Alex puts it, is that it's hard to be angry or dishonest with each other when you're face to face and eating that close to each other. I have to admit, I was rather shocked by this practice, as I wasn't really used to sharing at this close a level. In my family's house, everyone had their own stuff - plates, water glasses, even rooms. But after seeing how compartmentalized and screwed up my family became, we decided to try this out.

I can tell you all now: it works. My relationship with Alex, while never really as smooth a sailing experience as most people think, is at least one based on honesty, mixed with tact and understanding. It's not just how you tell the truth, but also how you consider the other's feelings when being truthful. It may sound contradictory, but it works for me.

When the day ends...
And it's not just about dishes, too. Alex has also been the one make it a law of our house (apartment) that we don't go to sleep at night (or early morning) until the day's pressing problems with each other have been resolved. Either that, or somebody just has to be the first one to give a hug and say all is well, I love you anyway. And mean it.

I had to adjust to this mode of living with each other - I had no choice. I am truly, madly and deeply in love with this man, and living without him is not an option. And so I learned.

Six years later, I think it has been very much worth it. While I'm writing this, I am also thinking of what brunch will be (Given that it's grocery day, I may just finish off a large part of our remaining food stores), and I'm letting him sleep a bit more, since I know he's had a long week. Later, I'll probably wake him up with a kiss.

And then we'll eat from one dish - as always.


Note: If you guys have noticed: yes, we only have one set of plates. We're still saving up for another set, as we're getting bored of the same color all the time, hahahah! The food in the picture is tuna shanghai, which I bought from SM Cubao's grocery.

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