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Six years ago today, Husband asked me a question that changed everything. He asked me to marry him.
It was a Saturday night. We were home in our apartment. Husband was gearing up for business school midterms and said he needed to study. I had just started at the law firm and after a long week of work, I wanted to go out for dinner. Ever the positive influence, I begged Husband to take a study break and go for a quick dinner in the neighborhood. He fought me a bit, but ultimately caved. I disappeared into our bedroom to whip up a fun dinner outfit. When I reappeared, Husband was sitting at the little mosaic table in our kitchen. His brown suede boots, a Christmas present from me that year, were on the floor next to him. I approached him, rattling off restaurant possibilities. And he handed me something.
It was a small photo album. I flipped through, utterly clueless. Each page had two versions of a photo of us. One color. One black and white. I reached the end of the album and there was a picture of something else. A ring. A ring!
I looked up from those pages at him. He smiled, reached inside one of his boots, and pulled out a box. To be honest, the rest is a bit of a teary blurry mess, but he got down on one knee, he said my whole name, he presented me with a stunning ring which he had picked all by himself, and he asked me that one simple question that changed everything. And I said what I’d been waiting to say to my guy.
I said yes.
The first call I made was home. To my parents. I remembered quickly that Mom was out of town, on a train actually, but Dad was there, deeply engrossed in a Cubs playoffs game. I announced our good news and Dad said we should come over and celebrate. And so we did. Husband and I spent our first couple hours as an engaged couple flanking my Dad on my parents’ couch, sipping good champagne, and cheering on the Cubbies. Finally, we did move on to dinner. Finally, we did get a hold of all of our scattered family members to pass along our good news.
I write this now in the very spot where Husband asked me to be his. I love this. I love that he kept the proposal simple and sweet. One wedding and two kids and six years later, I look back at that evening and I smile. I smile at how surprised I was. Because I was very much surprised. I smile at the fact that I fell in love with the ring as quickly as I once fell in love with my guy. I smile at the fact that we celebrated this monumental occasion by watching baseball. I smile because that night in many ways reflects the life we have carved for ourselves in its aftermath, a life full of home and profound affection and family.
We had a picnic in the park today with the girls. For a few stolen moments, Husband and I were alone on the grass under a brazen autumn sun. A few yards away, our girls, our gems, frolicked with focus, collecting acorns and sticks. I threw my arms around Husband and said, “I said yes to your question six years ago and look at us now. Any regrets?”
He said no.
Me neither, Husband. Me neither.
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If you are married, tell me your engagement story. Was it a surprise? If you are not married and hope to be, what would be your dream proposal?
Everyone struggles and...
>>but Dad was there, deeply engrossed in a Cubs playoffs game. I announced our good news and Dad said we should come over and celebrate.
That made me cry.
This is a wonderful and happy post. But yet I’m sitting here, trying to type a response and feeling melancholy.
My dad will never know my engagement story. He’ll never dance with me at my wedding. I miss him so much.
Your question at the end put me into a category. In my own mind, of course, but I don’t like it. I don’t think all of us single girls fall into the ‘not married and hope to have ‘dream proposals’.
I had my ‘dream proposal’. It didn’t work out.
Congrats on 6 years that is amazing! We celebrated 5 this year, so we are right behind you. I wish I had an engagement story to tell…ours went something like this me: “Do you want to get married?” him: “Ok.” and things were never the same from that point on!
What a simple sweet story.
I love it. Congrats on 6 beautiful years.
“I smile at the fact that we celebrated this monumental occasion by watching baseball. I smile because that night in many ways reflects the life we have carved for ourselves in its aftermath, a life full of home and profound affection and family.”
I loved this line, so sweet
I hope if and when I get engaged for it to have a similar feeling for me — I’m the kind of person who much prefers something really honest, low-key even, to something showy.
Happy engagement anniversary!
I love the idea of the “engagement anniversary” because really your relationship started so long before that! What a great story. The book, the baseball. Everything.
First off… Aidan, you’re a Cubs fan?? I’m so disappointed. And to think that you’ve been masquerading around cyber-space as a perfectly decent human being. Oh well, we all have our faults!
My engagement was one big misadventure. Nothing about it went as planned, and I love that about it. There are more colorful details than what I’ll relate here, but the jist of it is this:
Over the weekend he picked a fight with me so that he’d have an excuse to try to make up. He asked me out to dinner to make up for the fight (which he’d NEVER done before). But I was between “real” jobs at the time and working part-time retail to make ends meet. I didn’t get off work until 10:00 or so and he met me at my apartment.
He helped me into the car and took me to Forest Park (huge St. Louis park; quite similar to Central Park). Walked me up to the 1904 World’s Fair Pavilion where his roommate had left lighted candles. And after a long and affectionate preamble asked if I was ready to take the next step in our relationship. Thinking the ring was about to make its sparkly appearance I said yes. But no. Instead of a diamond, he produced… a blindfold.
But I am a good sport, so I let him blindfold me and walk me down a long and uneven set of steps from the Pavilion back to the street. Just as we reached street level he stopped. I asked what was wrong and he said, “I think I’m getting a ticket.” You see, the park has a curfew, and we were well passed it. I asked (still blindfolded) what he wanted to do. He said “Wait here, I’m going to go talk to the cop.” Mercifully, he let me take the blindfold off. He thought he’d struck gold when the cop turned out to be a woman, but no. She was completely unphased by the fact that he was a man in love and about to propose. He asked if he could at least finish the deed without getting a ticket and she said okay. She also grudgingly accepted his proposal to walk me halway back up the hill next to a fountain, rather than on the side of the road.
I don’t remember now exactly what he said. But I remember saying Yes so immediately that I felt like it went by too fast. So I followed it up with Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes, just to make the moment last.
I found out later that had we not been interrupted by the St. Louis PD, he was going to have taken me to a pond with an island in the middle where his roommate had lit more candles. He planned to carry me through the water and propose on the little island. However, as it turns out the water was much deeper than he anticipated (chest deep on roomie) and I most certainly would have been dragged through algae and god-only-knows what else. I’ve always been grateful that the original plan was foiled!
It was my father’s birthday, the first one since he passed away suddenly at 58. We planned to have dinner with my mom and stepdad and my paternal grandparents to commemorate the day. Afterwards, we decided to play Monopoly, a game my dad loved to play, and when I landed on the luxury tax, my husband got down on one knee in front of my family and proposed with a ring that he also picked out and that I loved. I was utterly surprised and touched that my husband chose to propose on a day that meant so much to our family.
well, that made me misty.
Husband proposed at dusk at our favourite holiday beach front. the words ‘ There isn’t anyone i’d rather have ryan with (( i was 8 months pregnant…..)), there isn’t anyone else i’d rather spend my life with.. I want to spend the rest of my days with you, if you’ll have me’