I don’t even remember the last time that I wrote a post. I know that I could go back and check, but I don’t want to get distracted in fear that I might not finish this one.
Weeks ago, I wrote about how I’d been looking for an engagement ring for my girlfriend. It was quite an ordeal. I found an awesome one and sent in my payment…then the seller decided that he meant to ask for twice the amount that I’d paid. I ended up having to wait for a few days, but finally got my money back. Then, it was back to the drawing board. I looked for another week or so before finding another ring that I liked. Hesitantly, I sent my money out again, and waited for it to show up in the mail.
A few days later, my roommates were acting pretty suspicious when I got home. They kept asking if I’d checked the mail…which, of course, I had. After several minutes of giving me a hard time, they produced a small package with my name on it. I tried to play it off like I wasn’t excited, but when I finally got the box open (it was packaged quite securely), my joy was impossible to hide. Now, all I had to do was propose =)
For weeks, I’d been thinking about the best time and place to pop the question, and several plans had been formulated and then discarded, for one reason or another. I thought of doing it in Brianna’s hometown, on the plane (after safety announcements) to Alabama for Passover, in one of our favorite restaurants…and then decided to propose at Jardine’s, our favorite Jazz club…the site of one of our first dates, and one of our favorite places in Kansas City.
We’d been planning on going to Jardine’s on the 14th of April, but decided to also go a week earlier to see our favorite live jazz band, Bram Wijnand’s Majestic 7. We started dating on the 14th of January, so I thought that it would be fitting to continue in that tradition, but apparently, it wasn’t meant to be.
Earlier that day, Brianna and I had gone to pre-marital counseling, and were extremely encouraged by the progression of our relationship. This was our fifth week in counseling, and the entire experience has been incredibly edifying for us. We are continually realizing how blessed we really are to be so compatible with each other. In every area that we talk about (except the one where I answered the questions wrong), we have scored very high: communication, conflict resolution, relationship roles, etc. It is very reassuring to have someone else tell you that you have all of the tools you need for a successful relationship.
After counseling, I went back to work to finish out my day, while Brianna went to Shawnee Mission to get her hair done. It looked (and still looks…as always, I might add) AMAZING. I am the luckiest.
When I got off work, I rushed home to change clothes, and while putting on my socks, I saw Brianna’s ring on my bookshelf, and decided to take it along with me…just in case. Brianna had a massage appointment (it was her day off), and I’d agreed to be her chauffeur, as she doesn’t like to drive after getting worked on. I dropped her off at the clinic, and went for a cup of coffee to consider my newly forming proposal plan. About an hour later, I had convinced myself that today was the day.
We got to Jardine’s just before eight o’clock…enough time to catch one song by the Majestic 7, before they took a break. We sat at our usual table, and greeted our waitress, before settling in a bit. Since it was relatively quiet with the band on break, Brianna told me how her massage went. Apparently she’d been bragging on me to her co-workers during her massage. She kept saying how wonderful I was, and how blessed she was to have me, and so on. My head started to swell a bit, and if it weren’t for being so nervous about proposing, I probably would have gotten a little cocky.
I’d considered going up to the stage and asking (on the mic) Brianna to join me, and then proposing. I’d also thought about asking for everyone’s attention…and then proposing. If it were a week later, I’d have had one of our friends come along and take pictures while I proposed. Since we were alone, and the time seemed right, I kept it simple. I pulled the ring out of my pocket and made a simple proposal (I decided that getting down on one knee was out of the question, as we were sitting in tall bar-type stools, and she probably wouldn’t have been able to hear what I was saying). Brianna later admitted that she’d expected me to “fake-propose” a few times, a la Jim Halpert, before I asked for real.
She said yes.
We spent the following couple of hours staring at each other. It was pretty mushy, and I’m not ashamed. I don’t think I heard much of the band that night. I’m going to marry the most amazing woman I’ve ever met. She is so beautiful, intelligent, talented, loving, thoughtful…incredible. I am so blessed to share the rest of my life with her.
