Twenty-three years ago, I was very well off at home, I didn't cook, I didn't iron, I didn't clean, I only contributed money to pay part of the household maintenance. I grew up in an unconventional family, where there was never a father figure, surrounded by my mother, my aunts and my grandmother, the closest thing to a father was an uncle-in-law, but he did not interfere in the affairs of his sisters-in-law.
My life was routine, I had my room, I always bought bread in the same place, on weekends I always went to the same beach and I had been in an affectionate relationship for more than five years in which my girlfriend visited me and I visited her.
I had a job that allowed me to indulge myself and my girlfriend, I stopped studying because I felt that I was fine, that there was no need to learn anything new. But sometimes I experienced an emptiness, a feeling that something was beginning to be missing.
Suddenly that big monstrous feeling called love started to hit me, I needed to share more with my partner and she also wanted to share with me. The fights and arguments started, we separated and came back, came back and separated.
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At that time I said "no" to all the plans and new ideas that my girlfriend proposed to me since it implied a change in my routine and way of doing things. I recognize today that this was a very selfish attitude on my part.
She left me, she left my life for about three months, in which I felt isolated, I began to think everything was meaningless since I found nothing stimulating in my daily routine.
From the bottom of my heart I decided to take a big risk, with a lot of fear of rejection or losing more than winning, I asked my girlfriend to marry me.
At that moment, I visualized a great leap into the void, as if falling from a stone into a precipice, however this request freed me from that feeling of oppression that I had, from that fear to face other opportunities that life offered me. I thank God, after making such a heartfelt proposal, that she said YES.
I immediately began to leave my comfort zone, looking for a place to live with my still girlfriend, in Venezuela there is a saying that goes "Married home wants", and for reasons of character and even tolerance I would say, she was not going to live in my house and I was not going to live in her house.
We both embarked on an adventure where we did not know many things, we were afraid and we had to learn to control ourselves and to empathize even more with each other.
Looking for a property we received many refusals, because our income was not enough, this fact motivated us to make a small investment and found our video club, where we rented movies in VHS format, and additionally we sold candy that usually bought us when people came to the doors of our houses to rent a film. We would buy paper baskets, pencils, pens and crayons and sell them at our respective jobs.
I, for my part, fought hard in my workplace to have my talent recognized at the level of Financial Analysis and thus get a better remuneration, she studied with much more dedication to get her college degree and get promoted.
Our goal was to get a property where to live, we behaved like daring people to leave our comfort zone, we began to discard fears and excuses. After so much searching we got a purchase option in a very new urbanization, which split the down payment of the property, got the bank loan, and delivered the keys to the property once they were built.
However, there was only one limitation, the applicants had to be married or living in a cohabitation situation. We had to figure out what to do, so we went to a civil registry office, got the necessary documents, and set the wedding date.
We had to rush to find a godmother and a best man, as the date was very close. The event happened, but as we did not have much cash and we had to save for the down payment we could not make any toast, we went to a nearby square, we ate a Hot Dog and kissed, immediately the police arrived and scolded us for being performing acts against public morals.
We left the square and laughed for a while, talked and planned to go the next day to the construction company to deliver that marriage paper that we needed so much. We went our separate ways, I went to work and she went to college.
About three months went by and we religiously paid the down payment thanks to the help of movie rentals, candy sales, and the sale of some other useful items. December arrived and they called us to tell us that we had the bank loan approved, but that before the end of the month they had to receive the missing down payment.
We ran like crazy, we put together the year-end profits, the profits obtained from the sale of items and candies, and our salaries, we still needed to complete the down payment.
We did not know what else to do, we were walking aimlessly down a street where informal merchants stood out and suddenly I met a former co-worker who at that time was selling copies of compact disc music, when he saw us so distressed he asked us what was wrong, we told him the situation, and he said do not worry, here is the rest of the money, pay me when you can, (in a month we pay it).
With much gratitude and with a great commitment we took the money, went to the bank, deposited it in the account of the construction company and immediately took the Vaucher as proof of having completed the long-awaited down payment.
The next day very early in the morning we went to the commercial offices where they informed us that there were only two apartments left to assign, so they moved us to the new development and gave us a choice, our excitement could not overcome us, we felt strong palpitations and felt that the heart was coming out of our mouths.
We chose the property that we liked the most and immediately we were given the keys to it, finally it was time to live together a new adventure, to create a home, and to continue to develop as people, become independent and form a new family.
Before moving, we decided to get married in church, and believe me it was complicated, I must even tell you that they demanded more requirements than the wedding at the headquarters, we visited more than seven catholic churches until we were able to meet the requirements.
After the wedding and the honeymoon we moved, we equipped the house with the few belongings we had in our old homes, except for something very important because we rested in it: a bed. We slept on the floor for about three days between sheets, a bit battered, but happy because we were in our new home. Logically, on the fourth day we bought a mattress, and the comfort level was different. Renting movies continued to give us economic satisfaction and allowed us to furnish our home and buy household goods, as well as a used Fiat Idea vehicle.
We learned to do many things that we did not do before, such as cooking, washing by hand without a washing machine, ironing, cleaning a building thoroughly, and doing our own market. We took courage and continued studying and preparing for the future, we planned our needs, we understood the value of saving and working and the most important and valuable thing for me is that we learned to be parents.
Love forced me to get out of my comfort zone and one after another my needs, and those of my wife, were met. Getting out of the comfort zone prepared us to: live through difficult times, be more productive and creative, discover new places to visit and gain self-confidence.
This is my participation in the initiative promoted by @galenkp: Writing suggestions WEEK 146 - Weekend-Engagement Link Here.
Pushing boundaries
When did you last push the limits of your comfort zone? What were the circumstances, the reasons and outcomes. A post of 300 words or more is required.
Have a pleasant and productive weekend.
The photographs are my property and were taken with my Iphone4 cell phone, with the exception of the third image whose image was originally taken from a Kodak camera.