The best gift I've ever received

It took us a while before we posted about our engagement, mostly because we wanted to make sure we'd had a chance to tell our friends & family in person first. I suppose we're still old fashioned in some ways! We're both incredibly happy and excited about our future together, and excited to be able to share the news with you.

It's been something that'd I'd been thinking about for some time, and sure, we'd talked about our future together many times and hinted at what we each wanted, and general timeframes for when we both imagined things happening. It was clear from very early on in our relationship that we both knew that it was something very special, and had a lot of promise for a lifetime of happiness. But I wanted to still be able to sneak in an element of surprise on the timing so as to keep things exciting and not too predictable (we're both such planners that it isn't as easy as you'd think). I'd already made up my mind that A was the right person for me, and that I had to have her in my life for the remainder of it. I've grown incredibly close to her over the last many months, closer than I've ever been to another person. We spend almost all of our waking hours together, and yet I still can't get enough. She helps me be a better person, and I strive to help her do the same. We help each other fulfill our dreams and wishes for life. 

So in order to keep things from being too predictable, I mentioned that given the cost of a ring, it might be worth picking it up in Portland where there is no sales tax. She must have thought I was being really cheap, and there's definitely some perfectly sound logic to that plan, but the real reason was to keep her thinking that we wouldn't be engaged until we made a trip to Oregon at some point (something she'd have been involved in or aware of at least). Then, a few weeks ago, I volunteered to go run some errands and get some things from some shops downtown while A had to do some work. While running those errands, I consulted with the salesman at the jewelry store and had him order in a few options for what I had in mind for the ring, which took a few days. When I later went to pick up the ring, A thought I was still in an all-day meeting for work and thought I was busy working on a date night plan for that evening. I had come up with a date night plan, but she ended up guessing where we were going, and as she said in her post, told me I'd need to wake up earlier if I wanted to surprise her. Ironically I had just walked out of the jewelry store, ring in hand, and just smiled to myself. Now that I had the ring, I just had to wait for the right moment. I wasn't in a rush, and I wanted to make sure the setting and environment was right, and that we were both in a nice, relaxed state.

What better opportunity than in our weekend getaway that A surprised me with for my birthday weekend? I'd never been to Mendocino and didn't quite know what to expect, but it was amazing. The view was incredible, as we posted earlier. Here's another couple pictures of it...

I imagined it would involve cliffs and water, but never imagined it being quite as picturesque as this, nor did I think that the architecture and layout of the rental would be as unique as it was. It was a house built by an architecture professor at the College of Marin, so it was pretty much his dream vacation/retirement home. It wasn't too outlandish, pretty modest actually, and all of the wood and glass were reclaimed from other buildings being torn down (back in the 60's, way before it was cool or trendy to do so). The hardwood flooring was actually flooring from bowling lanes from a bowling alley in San Francisco. The layout of the kitchen and living room was perfect, all open and overlooking the water. It was very private and secluded as A pointed out in her post, and I knew that this place would provide the perfect backdrop to a marriage proposal. On top of that, the fact that A was so focused on planning and coordinating everything to make this a very special birthday weekend would keep her from suspecting anything else might happen. After unloading the car (of all but the most valuable little piece of luggage), I scouted the perfect spot, this sofa:

Now I just had to figure out the right timing. Should I wait until the next day, after we'd had a chance to really settle in? Nah, I decided. The ring had been burning a whole in my pocket for several days already and I thought it would make for a great way to set the tone for the rest of the weekend. And I wouldn't have to feel stressed the whole time we were there, wondering when the mood would be just right. So I told A that I thought that I had forgotten to lock the car, and went out to get the ring. She was busy unpacking a few things when I came back in. I found it was impossible to hide the ring box in my pocket without it being obvious, so I found the perfect spot to hide it under the corner of the "L" shaped sofa, where I figured we might sit at some point. It wasn't but a half hour or so later that we decided to relax a bit before getting dinner started right in the exact spot on the couch I had planted the ring.

The sun was setting, we were relaxed, both excited about how beautiful the place was and how much we were looking forward to just enjoying each other's company for a long weekend. I told her I loved her, she returned the favor, and then looked out to the ocean, watching the waves. I reached down and felt for the ring box, and said "Amy Lee..." to which she replied "yes? that's my name..." Now I was getting nervous. Umm... "that actually rhymes pretty good," I thought to myself.  Okay, we're going for it now! "Amy Lee, will you marry me?" I asked, holding open the box to reveal the sparkly diamond ring. It took her several second to realize what was going on, and after being dazzled and shocked by the sight of the ring that she probably thought she wasn't going to see for some time to come, she realized she hadn't responded yet! She just looked at me with a huge look of surprise and a big smile. I think at that point I said "Was that a 'yes'?" to which she said "Yes! You know the answer is yes!" And that, there, was the best gift I could have ever asked for!

Thank you, A, for agreeing to be my fiancé. I'm so fortunate to have you in my life, especially as my partner and best friend. I can't wait to build our life together. I love you!