Welcome to the family
So it's been a nervous couple of months and then in the last few days everything has been sort of a happy romantic blur. See, the thing is, on Friday I asked Amy to marry me. I know already that it is the best decision I have ever made, which it ought to be, because it has received far more thought than any to date. Planning began back in April, not necessarily for this proposal, but for *a* proposal - and a short 7 months later, here we are.
For posterity, my sequence of events:
- April - Amy and I decide to start saving up for a down-payment to buy our first house. I realise (not for the first time) that I never want to be with anyone else, and that I should probably start thinking about making that much official. Plan 1 is formed: propose to Amy the day we move into our new house. Since we're talking about hiring movers, it should be good, we just beat them there, ask her to marry me in our new empty house, and then literally start our new lives together by moving in.
- Over the summer - start to think that that's too far away, and besides, a house with no furniture does not suggest itself very well as a romantic staging area. There is conceptual romance, but there will be ACTUAL dust, old paint cans in the garage, and maybe very sweaty fat men named Gus carrying boxes around. Plan 1 begins to give way to Plan 2: propose during "our" Christmas. Amy and I have a Christmas every year together before going to our family's Christmas celebrations (which coincidentally, are often scheduled for the same day). I could propose then, it would cement that day as a tradition that we keep in the future, it's Amy's favourite holiday, and I'd have one hell of a kickass gift.
- September - start to think that that's too far away, and besides, we'd end up having to split off from each other hours after proposing. Neither of us would be near a phone that any of our friends could call, and everyone would accuse me of trying to timing it so that I didn’t have to buy a Christmas gift. Don't know yet what to do instead. Much research has happened and is now happening - learning my four C's of diamond purchasing, learning about blood diamonds and how to avoid them, learning about Canadian diamonds and their hurtful mark-ups.
- October - Amy goes away for a conference with work, and I start to rapidly concoct plan 3 - Amy will be coming back on Friday from the conference, and then heading to Waterloo to visit with the girls Saturday night. Use this time to purchase ring and accessories, surprise her when she gets back from Waterloo. Go to Spence to look at rings - find one that I, to this day, still like more each time I see it - and after a few hours with Laura the helpful diamond specialist decide on a setting and stone. Laura and I simply love the stone, virtually flawless. For those who speak diamond, it is a 0.35ct VVS1, I colour, with perfect cut except for "microscopic bearding" on the bezel. Laura and I are very excited. Laura tells me it will be ready in a few weeks. Weeks. Scratch plan 3.
- October, post-Waterloo trip - Tell Amy that we should set up an "us" weekend soon - one where we don't make other plans, and can just catch up on each other time instead of maintaining other commitments. Amy thinks this is a great idea. Conveniently forget to mention that this weekend encompasses plan 4: propose to Amy during newly invented "us" weekend.
- 2 weeks ago - Spence phones at work. Ask Kim (teammate at work) if she wants to take a ride to a diamond store over lunch. She does. Pick up the ring, ring box, bigger gift-box for ring box, gift bag for gift box for ring box, and appraisal. 2 minutes later in the car, my cell phone rings, and it's Visa, asking about a "very large purchase made recently on your card" and just calling to make sure it was legit. Thank Mr. Visa for not leaving this message on my home machine. Mr. Visa congratulates me on getting engaged. Thank Mr. Visa for that too. Kim seems very excited. Reality starts to hit me in waves now -- this is actually happening.
- Last week - Tell Lorne (manager) that I'm gonna need to leave early next Friday, get Rob (another co-worker) in on the plan, he will be driving me to pick up supplies. Hands shake a little every time I bring someone new into the fold.
- The Friday - Leave work. Pick up more candles, candle lighter, candle holders, silk scarf, and roses. Come home, set up, put on best suit, shut out sunlight, call Amy's father, pace nervously and then, after a seemingly interminable waiting period of what I must admit was maybe 5 minutes, Amy comes home and show's on.
For amy's take, check out her (lethie) journal. As I've said, since then everything has just been the two of us telling people, and going out to restaurants. We both passed out at like, 10:30 on Saturday - getting engaged is tiring. I'm going to go make dinner now. The last thing Amy's dad said to me when I called him to tell him I was going to do this crazy thing was, "Welcome to the family." I just about passed out.