December 21 was my sister, Gail, and brother-in-law, Paul's, 55th anniversary! What a a wonderful milestone and an example of commitment to each other. Thinking of their day so long ago (I was a 12 year old bridesmaid at their beautiful Christmas wedding), reminded me of my engagement story. I decided to post our story on the blog about our continued journey together.
At the time of our engagement both Rich and I taught school in Denver at Silver State Christian School. Although Rich taught junior high and I taught 1st grade, we came together for staff meetings each week. We both worked with the junior high youth group at church and got to know each other through ski trips and other youth activities. We started to date in 1975 right after my Christmas vacation trip back home to Minnesota - but that is another story!
Rich and I became engaged 43 years ago on Christmas Eve. We were in Minnesota for Christmas with my family (the first time everyone would meet my boyfriend) in 1977 and Rich planned to pop the question. When he picked up my ring in Denver, he realized that it was not sized correctly but he didn't have time to rectify the situation before flying with me to Minneapolis/St. Paul.
Although security was not as tight at the airport as it has been post 9/11, there was still protocols in place. When Rich went through security, the ring box in his suit jacket set off the hand held metal detector. Fortunately, I had gone through security first and was preoccupied with the TSA attendant and didn't hear the detector beeping or conversation that Rich had with the lady that had been "searching" him. He flashed the ring box and explained that he was going to propose over Christmas and she winked, gave him a thumbs up, and nodded him through security.
One of Rich's favorite sayings is "Think of the stories that you can tell" when we go through any struggles, mishaps, or special celebrations. In the days before Pinterest, Instagram, or Facebook there wasn't a thought of photo ops or fancy props for a proposal. Rich just wanted the moment to be memorable and story-worthy! Rich always looks for the humor in a situation - so he wanted it to be funny, too!
We went Christmas shopping a couple of days before Christmas and Gerry and Connie asked us to meet them for dinner at a Mexican Restaurant. Rich had already showed my mom and sister-in-law the engagement ring that he had brought to give me. So when he produced a ring box at the restaurant, Connie was sure that he was going to propose in front of them. Earlier that day Rich shared with me that although he had hoped to give me an engagement ring for Christmas, the ring that he had made for me was not sized correctly in time for our trip to Minnesota.
At Rich's insistence, I opened the gift in front of Gerry and Connie. It was a beautiful pearl ring. Connie was sure that Rich had "hid" the real ring and told me to pull the box apart and look in the jewelry bag. Finally, when our search did not produce anymore jewelry, she glared at Rich and said, "You, dog!"
I tried to explain to her (later in the restroom) that Rich had planned to give me a ring for Christmas but he couldn't get it sized in time. She played along with the ruse. Later Rich justified his "ruse" by reminding us that he never lied - he just made me think that he didn't bring the ring with him on our trip.
Anyway, the week passed quickly and it was finally Christmas Eve. Since our family has Scandinavian roots, Christmas Eve was always a special time to gather for a delicious meal, a time of gift giving, and a time of reading the Christmas story together and celebrating Christ's birth. The Carlsons, Fosmarks, Turbetts, Mom, Rich, and I gathered for an amazing dinner. We enjoyed the food and fellowship but after the festivities were winding down, Rich announced that he wanted to take me out for coffee and dessert! I protested that I was stuffed and had already sampled a couple of the desserts provided for us! However, Rich pressed the issue and for the next hour, we tried to find a nice restaurant to have coffee, dessert, and a place for Rich to pop the question.
I was so helpful in the process! I continued to tell Rich that I was fine with going home. I could make coffee at my Mom's house. If he was still hungry, she had lots of yummy Christmas cookies to munch on. Rich told me later that he almost gave up hope because the only places that seemed to still be open were bars and he knew that wasn't going to work with me! Finally, as a last resort, he headed over to Rosedale Mall and noticed that the upscale "Steak & Ale" restaurant had quite a few cars in the parking lot. He told me to stay in the car while he checked to see if they were still open for serving food. When he got inside, the receptionist told Rich that they were no longer seating guests. He must have looked very crestfallen because she felt sorry for him and told him that if we just ordered a beverage and dessert, they would make an exception. He excitedly told her that was perfect - he wanted a romantic place to give his girlfriend an engagement ring. She told him that she would find him a intimate place in one of the small dining rooms near the crackling fireplace. Rich returned to the car to get me. The ambiance couldn't have been more magical - white lights and fragrant evergreen boughs covering the fireplace mantle and a table that was secluded from other patrons.
We ordered coffee and Rich's favorite dessert - cheesecake! Then Rich took my hand to admire the pearl ring that he had given me several days ago. He asked me to slip it off so that he could look at it closer. I was enjoying the beautiful surroundings and the joy of some time alone with my beloved - so I didn't notice him exchanging my pearl ring for a stunning engagement ring (a round 3/4 carat sapphire flanked by two 1/2 carat diamonds). He brought me back to reality with his words, "Let's try your ring on your other hand - maybe it will fit better." Well, he slipped the engagement ring on my left hand. Although the ring was way too large for my finger and I had to hold it in place to look at it - it was truly breathtaking and SUCH a surprise to me! Now the frantic search for a place to go out for coffee made sense. However, after giving me the ring Rich didn't say ANYTHING! The waiter came to refill our coffee cups and bring us our cheesecake. Rich must have burned a lot of calories while looking for a place to get engaged because he started on his dessert like he was really hungry!
Finally, I blurted out, "Aren't you going to ask me a question?"
Rich tenderly took my hand and sweetly asked, "May I have the rest of your cheesecake?" I silently pushed my untouched piece of cheesecake over to him as he off-handedly asked, "You will marry me, won't you?" The rest, as they say, is history!
That sums up the years with my wonderful, romantic, cheeky, silly, thoughtful, think-of-the-stories-you-can-tell husband. It has been quite the adventure and I wouldn't trade any of it!
P.S. I no longer have my beautiful engagement ring (another long story) but the memory of this special night will never fade. The attached picture of the sapphire and diamond ring is very close to the original ring.
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