We're Engaged!

Every girl dreams of a classic engagement story, right? Something new and surprising that will make everyone swoon when you tell it to them.

My momma didn't get that engagement story. In fact, (as she has retold it countless times) her engagement story went something like this...

Mom: Hey, Scott. Don't you think it's time we get married?
Dad: You're probably right.

I'm sure it was much more romantic when it actually happened, but 30 years down the road, their story has boiled down to this. Because of this, of course, she has always urged me to wait and let my fiancé propose to me.

But a girl does get impatient...

Jeromy and I had a friendship that involved fussing about the opposite sex. We both had rough pasts and had come out of long term relationships recently. Our friendship was a way to vent to each other about the opposite sex, with a healthy dose of picking and tormenting. You know, a budding relationship. We hung out throughout the whole summer, as nothing more than friends. (A fact we were pretty adamant about.)

That changed the first time we hugged.

Cliché, right? We touched, and sparks and fireworks and opera music.. Cue the eyerolls. But it's true. We both knew something had changed that night. Something, as in, our whole lives.

Fast forward nearly two years down the road, and my boy is on bended knee.

Saturday started out as any other Saturday. We were slightly hungover (much thanks to Abby and Jordan for coming grill with us at midnight!), and while I went to my cousin's baby shower, Jeromy slept in. (Edit: Jeromy wanted me to include that he also cut the grass while I was gone, thank you very much.)

He was leaving for Denver on Sunday, so we planned a date night that consisted of cooking and drinking wine. (Moving is expensive, y'all. And his chicken sauce pincaté is to die for.) While catching up on some Louie on-demand, he told me he had a surprise for me, but he had to put it together. Ok? So I ran to the grocery store while he put my present together.

When I got home, he handed me an Amazon box. Not unusual, since 95% of his shopping is done on Amazon. I opened up the box and found the most beautiful book.

A pop-up book! The most intricate, delicate, beautiful pop-up book I have ever seen. Of course, I hold the Wizard of Oz close to my heart, as any Gamma Kappa KD does. The pictures in the book were beautiful, and the pop-ups on every page were stunning. I was tearing up at just the thought of him going out of his way to surprise me with this beautiful novel.

As I'm flipping through the pages (very, very slowly and carefully), I come to the second-to-last page. It's Dorothy. On a hot air balloon. With a ring.

Yes, he proposed to me on a hot air balloon.. in a book. He knows me so well.

He got down on bended knee, and told me that he knew he has wanted to marry me since our first hug. And would I do him the honor of being his wife.

My response? "You're serious, right? This isn't a joke or a test run or anything? This is real life?"

Then, of course, "YES!"