okay. so j and i dated for about 3 1/2 years before we got engaged.
j was cautious about marriage (for several reasons), as he should have been , but i KNEW. i swear i knew from the moment we kissed. which may or may not have been the first night we met and which may or may not have been initiated by me.
ahem.
anyway, we had talked about it a bit, but never been to look at rings or anything like that.
christmas 2002, we were on our way to waco to visit my parents. we started talking about marriage and j. began to catalog all of the reasons he just wasn’t remotely ready.
i flipped. flipped out.
for lots of reasons. i didn’t want to be across the country from each other. we’d done that (west point and baylor) and i was OVER it. little did i know i had a LOT of that ahead of me. heee~!
i didn’t want to move if i wasn’t certain of our future. i loved him more than i’d ever loved anyone before. honestly, no one had ever come close.
the kind of love that changes your world. that makes everything look different than it did before. i NEEDED to be where he was. to start a life with him, to start making our history together. i didn’t want anything in the world more than i wanted to marry him. it was all consuming. truly.
so, as i was saying i flipped. actually, he had to pull the car over b/c i was crying so hard. yes, it was not my finest moment.
here’s the funny part: he had the ring in his backpack in the back of the car. but clearly i didn’t know this.
so, as soon as i pulled myself together, we started driving. to be honest, i was PISSED at him. really, truly mad. i thought there was something wrong with me…i don’t know. i wasn’t thinking clearly, but i was not a happy camper.
i knew that he was going to have a drink with my father that night. my dad had been asking me when he was going to pull it together and ask me to marry him. i finally said I DON’T KNOW! WHY DON’T YOU ASK HIM YOURSELF??? yes, can you tell i was fed up?
by the time we got to waco i was thinking lovely. just lovely. this is going to be a fabulous weekend. a SPECIAL christmas. just great. (did i mention i was ticked off??).
j and my dad went to a restaurant. at this restaurant jimmy asked my dad for my hand in marriage. he told him that he was planning to ask me on the suspension bridge in waco (where he first told me he was falling in love with me). my dad happily gave him permission and told him to do it when the moment felt right. j put the ring in his pocket and came home.
where i was waiting for him wearing a red sorority t-shirt, leopard pajama pants, and socks WITH THE GRIPPERS ON THE BOTTOMS. like footsies for grown ups.
oh yes. if you have any doubt in your mind that i was clueless that a proposal was coming, then please refer to the previous paragraph.
jimmy found me in front of the fireplace. i wouldn’t look at him. i was on the verge of tears. you see, my dad had come in the house before j did, and he wouldn’t look at me. he seemed mad. he slammed a cabinet in the kitchen. it was just WEIRD.
*turns out that he knew if he looked at me, he’d grin and the jig would be up…but i didn’t know this. i was certain j had told my daddy that he didn’t want to marry me.
back to the fireplace.
i was glowering.
j asked if he could do anything to make me happy. we had a game we always played. he’d ask me that question, and i’d say “give me a prize!!!” and he’d pull something random out of his pocket (change, a receipt) and give it to me. just a silly tradition we have.
automatically, i said “give me a prize!!!” when he asked if he could do anything.
he told me to close my eyes. i think i said something like “I’m NOT in the mood for this!”.
first he put a quarter in my hand
then lint
then a dime (found out later that he had, at that split second, decided to propose and was working up the courage).
but i didn’t know this and i’m pretty sure i growled and/or hissed at him.
then i opened my eyes one last time and found a sparkly diamond ring in my palm. it looked exactly like the tiffany engagement ring that i’d had tacked on my cork board for YEARS. i mean, he was looking that whole time? he paid attention?
j got on his knees next to me. at this point we were both on our knees, and i (for the first time in my life) was stunned to silence. and j looked just as stunned as i did…he’s not one to make split-second decisions.
he said something simple, along the lines of “stephanie elise steakley, i love you. will you spend the rest of your life with me?”…and here is where i said…
wait for it…
IS THIS REAL????
by this, i think i meant…is this ring real? are you real?? you are too good to be true…is this whole situation real or am i dreaming? i’m pretty sure i’m not dreaming because i would NOT be wearing this in a dream about getting engaged. hell no.
and in the other room i hear my dad say “no, it’s a fake diamond!!” in a DUHHH tone
and then it hit me. i screamed. i cried. i said YESYESYESYES.
and that’s how i became an engaged woman. engaged to the man of my dreams.
while wearing booties for adults. and fugly leopard pj pants.ah yes. the most romantic story ever told.
HA!
xoxoxo
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