was the day David asked me to become his bride. It was a day I will always remember. David and I have pretty much been in and out of each other's lives in some way since kindergarten. We both went to the same Kindergarten, though we don't have a memory of each other from those days, but we were there together. Our families worshiped at the same church our whole lives, and we attended the same high school and college. In high school we had very different lives, different friends and never hung out or spent much time talking to each other. He had a girlfriend and I just had my friends. I went out on a few dates, but I never had a boyfriend till right after graduation and that didn't last long. Still, when David and I would pass each other in the halls, we'd say hello and exchange pleasantries.
He tells me he always thought I was pretty. I always liked his red hair and blue eyes... I don't think I ever told anyone that, but that is the one thing I remember most about him and that I thought he was a nice guy. Nothing more, as I didn't really know him or see him much.
In college, for many of those years he lived down the street from me at the Kappa Sigma house, while I was living at the Zeta Tau Alpha house. I never hung out at his fraternity. I knew he was there, but when I went to college, I wanted to avoid everyone I knew from high school. I pretty much did, so the last place I wanted to hang out was a fraternity with guys I knew from high school. So, I never sought him out. Besides, he still had a girlfriend and so he never really sought me out, but he knew where I was too. :)
College flew by-- hard to believe how fast it felt too. He stayed in Albuquerque and I came back to Santa Fe. Our lives since then have flown by too. He finally took a job in Los Alamos, moved to the Jemez and settled in there for 10 years. He's had serious relationships since college, but he was still looking for me even though he didn't know it. I stayed here, did some freelance writing and for the last ten years have been in real estate. I dated from time to time, I even managed to fall in love once since then... but a broken heart nearly kept me from true love. I dated a bit after that, but no one I met felt right. Then suddenly, out of the blue a Facebook friend request came in from a guy I knew in high school and college, a guy I remembered as being nice, so I clicked confirm. Suddenly a few days after that we started talking and I don't think there has been a day we haven't communicated since.
When we finally saw each other October 12, 2009, I knew he was special. I knew I'd found more than a friend-- and that's what I wanted at first. I didn't want another broken heart or another attempt at a relationship to fizzle. We saw each other again that weekend and the following weekend. By then.... I knew he was the one. I knew the moment we first kissed that I wanted to see him again... and again.
For us, it happened fast. For us, it felt right. For us, it was meant to be. This time is our time.
So flash forward about eight months and here we are engaged. And if you're still reading this, this is the story of his proposal. We were spending the weekend in Jemez, sprucing up the house and getting it ready for the summer. We spent Friday working on the bathrooms, the kitchen and the floor. He organized some of his things and I finished decorating the bathrooms. We were tired and hungry, so we went into the town of Jemez Springs for dinner at the
Laughing Lizard. Then the next day, he woke me up wishing me a Happy Anniversary. Every month on the 12th we wish each other a Happy Anniversary. Sometimes, I give him a card and a little something, or he does. This month I spaced it. While he was getting coffee I had time to write on his FB wall and wish him a Happy Anniversary. It posted three times. Darn Blackberry and crappy cell reception there. He saw it later.
After waking up, we went to
the little cafe in town for breakfast, quiche, croissants and chai. As we were leaving we decided to get some sweets to go. He wanted to go to Battleship Rock to hang out. In our trips to the house, we usually go to just check it. We've spent a night here and there, but we just check the house and head back to Santa Fe. So, this trip he wanted to take me around the area. I didn't really care where we went, I just wanted to be with him.
I had a chocolate éclair and he had a cinnamon roll, both were heavenly. I hope next year on this day, we go back to the cafe for both goodies in memory of this day. We sat talking and the next thing I knew, he apologized for not having a card and then said he had something he wanted to tell me.
Then he said the most romantic, most beautiful words to me and I melted just hearing them. I'm not going to post them because they are his words to me. Still, when he took out the ring and got on bended knee and asked me, his princess, to be his bride and marry him, how could I say no? I have been waiting for this day. I said yes to him so many times. We hugged and kissed. I will never forget that moment. I jumped into his arms, arms that have held me and will always hold me. I never wanted to let go of him. We kissed and we both got a bit teary eyed.
We've talked about marriage, family and spending our lives together. We've laughed and talked about our wedding-- in a church, with family and close friends-- but until the moment he asked me, I didn't think it would come. I've never been a girl who dreamt about a
Big White Wedding. ::: cues Billy Idol here:::
Now I get to plan it.
Afterward, we walked the trails around the picnic area. See,
Battleship Rock is where two rivers come together to form the Jemez River. Two bodies of water uniting to be one: the San Antonio and the East Fork River. We are two souls, two people, two lives coming together to be as one in marriage.
That's why he proposed to me there. In that spot. That's why I will never forget that day and I'm sharing it here so that others can share in that day with us.
A few pictures are uploaded
here.
