I feel I should interject a quick background summary for anyone who doesn't know... Mike and I have been together for about 5.5 years. And in that time we've been through a lot. A whole heck of a lot and it wasn't always fun or nice or wrapped up in a bow. Don't get me wrong, we've definitely had loads of fun, nice, beautiful moments too ~ otherwise we wouldn't be together. But I believe going through the rough is what really defines a relationship. So at this point, I can honestly say that I know we will make it in marriage. We're on each others team and when things get bad, we stick it out, we remember why we're together and come out the other side stronger. So with that said, on to the fun stuff!
So how did it happen? Well, it happened on Christmas. I'm sure some of you out there understand that there are lots of Christmas celebrations and finding time and coordinating schedules can get tricky. It was very important to me that we made a time this year to have our own celebration with just the four of us. Haley, my soon to be step daughter, has a lot of family to celebrate with, so we didn't get a chance to have that time together until Christmas afternoon. The tradition in my family is to open presents one at a time, so we can all see what the person got and hear any stories associated with it, etc. I really enjoy doing things this way. I don't really like everyone digging in at once and then going around asking what everyone received. I guess we all have our ideals about Christmas based on how it was done in your house. Anyway, I made Mike hand out the presents and wait until that person opened something before moving on. Well... he rushed through it. I mean it was rapid fire of present after present after present. He did things my way, but with the rush and anticipation that he grew up with. You could tell he was excited! So we finish with our gifts and Mike tells me there is one more present but that I have to come find it. It didn't really make sense, but I went with it. He made me look under the tree and under the tree skirt. Then he told me to hurry and just forget it and when I turned around he was on one knee holding a very sparkly ring. He asked me to marry him and I said yes. At least, I'm pretty sure I did. There was a lot of crying and shaking going on. I don't consider myself a big happy crier, but I definitely was at this moment. He managed to completely surprise me and I was a bit overwhelmed.
You see, in all our talking, Mike was pretty adamant that he wanted to do things "right". He didn't want to ask me until he could give me a nice a ring. And since we knew it would stick, this is a one shot type of deal. Well I didn't think we could afford a nice ring yet. We share finances and while we're not struggling, we're not rich either. So, I didn't think it was really a possibility. But looking back it makes a lot of sense.
Mike is a bartender, I am an administrative assistant. My income is very steady and his income is flexible. So basically for the past year or longer, most night's have been "terrible". Lots of traffic but not a lot of tips. You know, bad economy and all that. Well I don't think they were as bad as I was lead to believe ;-).
Anyway, after the proposal I called my mom, dad, and sister (who were all together) to tell them the news. I also sent out a text to other family and close friends. I kept trying to take a picture, but they were all blurry because my hands were anything but steady. And telling people brought on fresh tears and it was a happy hot mess! And if you were a fly on the wall of our house at that time, this is what everyone was doing:
Me: Crying, calling, attempting pictures, texting
Mike: Picking up wrapping paper, chasing Sarah, responding to Haley
Haley: Yelling at Mike for not crying and lecturing him on the emotional significance of the moment
Sarah: Walking around in an overstimulated daze completely unaware of anything that is going on
Yup, that exactly what was going on in our house. So yay!! We're getting married! I will be writing posts sporadically on different aspects of planning a wedding. I know it's going to be loads of work and I'm not even sure where to begin... but it has begun, and started with a big ole "Yes!"
