Life In The Fast Lane: Part 2- The Engagement Story

The only people reading this are people who already know I am engaged, pretty sure. But many of you might not know exactly how it happened. Here is the story:

Ben and I had been talking about it a lot. We first started chatting about it when he visited Brownville over the summer for my birthday. Some people might think I ended up in Madison just to be closer to Ben. That, actually, is quite untrue. I was applying for almost any AmeriCorps job that I felt I was qualified for that was in a bigger city. Twin Cities, Chicago, Milwaukee, Spokane, Phoenix, Providence...I mean...ALL OVER THE COUNTRY! In fact, I had held off on applying to Madison and Milwaukee for a long time because I didn't want to be "stuck" in Wisconsin. However, my very first interview was with this position in Madison. I interviewed on my birthday, with Ben only a few feet away from me. When I was offered the job the next day, the answer seemed clear- YES! Of course, after accepting I got offered many, many other interviews. But my decision was made. Who knows- I could have turned down this job and then not have been offered any of those other positions. As much as I love my parents, I was not so keen on the idea of going home for a few months to a year. I really believe I was meant to come here. Not to really advance my career (obviously). More to challenge me. More to help give me time to get onto my own adult feet before heading to a bigger, more challenging city. But most of all- to help keep me close to Ben- someone who has been nothing but supportive, patient, and loving of me since the moment I met him.

So- we first talked about it in July. When I returned from Nebraska and moved to Madison, we continued talking about it...more and more and MORE. We didn't tell many people. We wanted to keep it pretty private until we really knew it would happen. There was so much to discuss and do before actually making the big decision. I showed him a few rings, we discussed a rough estimate of wedding dates and places, and we made the official decision of the place to start our lives together- Chicago. But through it all, I think we learned how much we really rely on each other for support. Even though we are two hours apart, we still talk multiple times a day. Being together feels right, being apart feels wrong. So- we had our answer. We just needed to make it happen.

Thus the trip to Colorado. Not only was it fun, because Ben had never been to Colorado before and it was awesome to see him interact with my family for a longer period of time than before, but it was also important because it meant that Ben could feel more comfortable talking to my parents when the marriage question came up.

Now- I must give a disclaimer here: I was NOT expecting a proposal. Not one bit. I thought May or June. Did not at all think it would be as soon as February. I made it very clear that I did not want a Valentine's Day proposal. And it wasn't. As I mentioned in the last blog, Valentine's Day was pretty low key. However, Ben had already ordered the ring at the beginning of the month. Sneaky, sneaky. And a few nights before I came up to Point, he called my parents for their blessing. Again- sneaky, sneaky. I really had no clue.

So, I went up to Point. I had a lot of work still- Culture Night was coming up on Tuesday and I still needed to do this, do that, do lots of things! I was hoping to relax a bit, but still get work done. Saturday morning, Ben and I woke up. We had already decided that we would spend at least part of the day bumming around downtown Stevens Point. So- while I showered, Ben went out to get donuts for breakfast. He was gone an awfully long time, considering the donut place is only about 5 minutes away from his apartment. But he insisted that it was because the line was long. I didn't think too much of it. (He told me later that the ring had just come in that morning and he went to the Post Office to pick it up! Had it not come in- He wouldn't have done it that weekend.) When he returned, we had donuts and I continued getting ready. He was very hyper. I just thought he was excited to spend time with me or something. Or maybe the coffee was getting to him. He even sat in the bathroom and watched me put on my make up. Finally- we were out.

In the car, I started listing off where I needed to go and what I needed to do before we went downtown. Ben said that we had to do something else first. That threw me for a loop. What could we possibly need to do? I asked him, and he said it was a secret. At that point, I started figuring out that something was up. He took my hand, as we drove in almost complete silence. We stopped in front of Congress Club- where we had our first impromtu date. Ben gave a little speech about how he just couldn't wait to have a date with me and that's why he had asked me to meet him there instead of waiting a few more days for our actual scheduled date. He recounted how he sang possibly the worst first date karaoke song ever because he wanted to impress me with his voice. This is the song he sang: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aSI-Wk00rVw   He sounded good, but the lyrics kind of terrified me at the time. He recounted all the things he really liked about me and learned about me. We kissed and kept driving.

Now, I was pretty sure this was a proposal, but wasn't completely positive yet. Maybe he is just feeling really romantic this morning? I wasn't sure, but I stayed pretty quiet and calm the whole way through. We ended up in downtown Stevens Point. Ben pointed out the little gyros restaurant where we had our actual first date and how I wanted to sit on the floor and he obliged even though he was extremely uncomfortable the whole time. He pointed out the bus stop and remembered the night he first hung out with me and my friends and how I laid my head on his shoulder on the bus ride back to campus. He pointed out The Sugar Bar- which is where we met. He remembered how we had talked and then I left. And how Lexa came back and gave him my number because I was too shy to ask for his, or give it to him myself. We then went to the park next to the river walk along the Wisconsin river. He parked and said "Okay- we have to get out now." So, we got out of the car. It was pretty cold, lightly snowing. We trudged through at least a foot high of snow to a spot relatively close to where a picnic table is during the Spring/Summer. Ben asked me to remember a few nights before I left for Brownville last May. We took a walk to this spot one night and chatted under the stars. We were both sad that I would be so far away and we had no idea what the future held for us at that point. There was an awkward pause in our conversation. We just looked at each other. I was trying to figure out how he was feeling- was he in a lot of pain? was he going to break up with me? He thought I thought he was going to do something...something like propose to me. So he quickly said "Don't worry- I'm not gonna propose to you or anything." I was taken aback- I didn't think that at all. We had only been together a year! We had never even talked about marriage. Why would I think he was going to propose?

Well, he told that story and when he got to the part where he said "Don't worry- I'm not gonna propose to you or anything." He then added, "But, this time- I am." And he got down on one knee, pulled out the ring, and with tears in his eyes, asked me to marry him. I took a deep breath and took a look around, just so I would always remember the moment. And I said "Yes. Always." and I bent down to kiss him. He put the ring on my finger. And we kissed. In the snow, while it was lightly snowing around us. Two dreams come true: A kiss in the snow AND my true love.

The inspiration from this proposal came from The Office- when Michael proposes to Holly. Obviously, it's not exactly like this. No candles or sprinklers. But the basic concept (taking me to special places and explaining their significance) is the same. Ben and I love the office and believe that we are a lot like Michael and Holly. So it was fitting.

Keep your eyes out for Part THREEEEEEEEEE of this story: Life In The Fast Lane: Part 3- Beyond. It will include details about the ring, the wedding plans (such as they are right now), my new job at Victoria's Secret, and more!