It's nice to take a little break from the internet every now and then, isn't it? We had a busy weekend of visiting Jonathan's family in Pennsylvania and then it was back to work today as I started my new position. I spent the whole day in orientation so it doesn't even really feel like I'm in a new role yet, but tomorrow I'll move cubes and start working with my new team. So far, my anxiety has been minimal and I'm hoping it stays that way!
Since there isn't too much else going on in my life, save for packing, I thought I would finally get around to sharing our engagement story which I promised you all a long time ago. So without further ado, here it is...
It was 2005 and Jonathan and I had been dating since the previous September. On a whim, we decided to go on a Caribbean cruise that December and invited our parents and siblings to join us. To our surprise and delight, both of our parents and my sister decided to come along.
In the months prior to the cruise, I couldn't help but wonder if Jon would pop the question in the exotic locale of some Caribbean island. We had been talking about marriage pretty much since we started dating and I thought he couldn't choose a more perfect scenario than the cruise with both of our families there. As anyone who knows me well is quite aware, once I get an idea in my head, it's pretty much impossible to get it out. (See my obsession with learning how to dance en pointe at the ripe old age of 27. AHEM.)
I discussed it with my mom, I discussed it with Jon's mom and I talked all my girlfriend's ears off about my sneaking suspicion that Jon was going to propose on the cruise. It just so happened that someone shared my hunch with Jon, and seeing as how he knew I was onto his plan, he decided to throw me off the trail.
One night while we were eating dinner, he mentioned out of the blue that a "little bird" shared with him that I was expecting a cruise proposal. To my dismay, he also added that unfortunately, it was not going to be a possibility as he had just bought a new car and couldn't afford to buy a ring at this time. SOB!!
I was SO disappointed. And I'll admit it, I cried. Poor Jon... I reminded him of my disappointment just about every day leading up the cruise. I was very stuck on this whole tropical island proposal thing and it seemed as if everyone else around us was getting engaged except for us. All the while, Jon was playing it calm and cool as he was secretly getting satisfaction out of pulling the wool over my eyes.
December rolled around and we left for our cruise and I tried not to let my disappointment ruin our vacation. On the second day of the cruise, I happened to notice that Jon's hands were extremely clammy, which is quite unusual for him. I mentioned it and he just played it off as excitement for the upcoming blackjack tournament (which I won!). I shrugged it off and soon forgot about it.
Later that evening, we were getting ready for our first formal dinner in our stateroom. Before I got in the shower, I took off my promise ring (a sapphire and diamond ring which Jon had given to me our first Valentine's Day together) and very carefully took notice of where I placed it since I have a bad habit of losing jewelry.
After I hopped out of the shower and got dressed, I went to put my promise ring on and it was missing! I freaked out and had a minor meltdown as the ring was very, very special to me and because I knew exactly where I left it. It had just seemingly vanished into thin air. I yelled to Jon in the shower asking if he had come across it, but he played dumb, knowing very well that he was the culprit!
I continued to look for it while Jon got dressed, but still couldn't find it. It was getting late and we had to go, so I figured I would look for it later. Just as we were getting ready to leave, Jon teased me about forgetting our 1 1/4 year anniversary the previous day. We used to celebrate every little month that first year we dated, but had fallen out of the habit. I laughed at him and apologized for missing it and he replied that he loved me anyway and would still marry me one day. Not one to miss an opportunity, I sulkily said, "Yeah, someday..."
To my astonishment, Jon said, "Well, actually I have a question for you" and proceeded to get down on one knee. (Meanwhile, I'm screaming in my head, "OHMYGOD, OHMYGOD, OHMYGOD!!!) Then he pulled out the cleverest little jewelry box (it had a light in it!) and inside was a gorgeous princess cut diamond ring. Then he asked those four important words, "Will you marry me?"
I didn't hesitate at all. I threw my arms around Jon and hugged and kissed him and said, "Of course!" and ended up knocking him over on the bed! He then fessed up and admitted, "I replaced your promise ring with something better." Ah ha! So I didn't lose it! We ran across the hall to tell our parents and then went to a wonderful dinner with champagne to celebrate. It was absolutely perfect and that is how we came to be engaged in the middle of the Caribbean Sea!
Photo taken at dinner right after the proposal:
