The summer of 2011, I worked at a Volvo dealership. Which was totally weird. I admit it. I know nothing about cars. So I just worked reception. On July 1st, 2011, David picked me up from work and said we were going on a fun date. I got off work at like 8PM so we were racing the clock with places being open. We went back to my mom’s house so I could change and I neglected to take out my clear nose ring place holder that I wore for the sake of professionalism. It kind of just makes me look like I have a zit on my nose all. the. time. Anyways.
I knew. I knew that we were getting engaged soon. In the process of praying and talking through what the future would look like for us, we knew it’d be summer of 2011. And in about a week, we were taking a trip up to New York City, my favorite place in the world. I knew it’d happen there. And I knew David had talked to my dad. Because the night before, he’d picked me up from work a little bit red in the face. Which is what happens when he drinks half a beer :] All that to say, I was pretty sure of myself.
That night, we drove to Lake Anne in Reston and because it was pitch black, we got a little turned around. We found the parking lot, but there was no lake in sight. We called my dad to make sure we were in the right place and he told me very sternly to “GET OUT OF THE CAR.” I hung up and chalked it up to my dad’s weirdness. We ate a 10PM dinner of Hawaiian pizza and caesar salad by the water and had wonderful conversation. We talked about family and about the future together…and I didn’t have a clue until David asked if I wanted to walk around the Lake.
I said yes, and then David insisted we put the takeout box in the car first. And then, David started acting nervous. He kept asking if I wanted to put my camera in his backpack. It was already tucked safely into my purse. And still, he insisted on bringing his backpack for our walk around the lake. I gave him a hard time and he told me he had a present for me inside it. I tried to be patient and asked if it would keep me warm, because it was super chilly out. We walked for what felt like an eternity. We kept coming to dead ends and I could just tell that he was looking for a good place to get down on one knee.
We ended up at the dock. I sat down unceremoniously and swung my legs over the edge. David asked me to scoot back. Please scoot back. So then we sat in the middle of the dock and he gave me my present. A big box wrapped up with a bow. I was confused. This box was bigger than the one I was expecting. Still, I unwrapped it and was reminded again how much David loved me/tolerated me/and how weird I was all at once. It was a Harry Potter snuggie.
(I promise there’s at least a little cultural relevance. The last movie was about to come out and I had hinted strongly at my need to own a snuggie. That’s me.)
With no prompting at all, I unfurled the snuggie. And there was the small box I was expecting. David pulled it from my hand, got up on one knee and said lots of sweet things I don’t remember at this point. I was in shock, but I said yes quickly. And then we called all our friends and screamed about it.
It was the beginning of our adventure together. And today marks 8 years exactly since it all began!
(note david’s backpack straps in the image below)
The day after we got engaged we got to go to a wedding together! And then to NYC the next week. David admitted he didn’t want to be nervous for our whole trip, so he proposed before.
:]
note* I thought it’d be fun to recount our love story here on the blog. It’s funny, it’s most definitely awkward, and it tells you a little bit about our not so stellar beginnings. Also, it’s one of my favorite stories to tell. Also, when I told David my idea he said “Oh noooooo.” I’ll be posting updates every Friday for the next few weeks! And I’m politely asking that you do not judge the photos because they are most definitely pulled from facebook and terrible, terrible quality :]
