I’m ENGAGED!!!

I’m sorry for the late post, for those of you that follow along. The winds of change are blowing me down like a weather vane in a hurricane. On January 19th the love of my life proposed to me on our three year dating anniversary.

*WARNING! If you aren’t one to read mushy proposal stories feel free to like my post and move on.*

After work that chilly Saturday night he picked me up and we went to a hotel in Los Colinas. It’s a beautiful city just outside of Irving with modern restaurants and a small river walk that goes through the middle of downtown. The tears started early for me because he made me a mix tape as one of my gifts that he put in the CD drive on the way into town. The first song on the album was, “Wish You Were Here” by Pink Floyd. It was the first song that he ever played for me on his guitar and I was deeply affected that he remembered such a small memory from so long ago.

I knew that we were celebrating our anniversary but this hotel was on a whole other level; it had marble floors, a coat check, and valet (it was a far cry away from the Hampton Inn or Best Westerns your girl is used to). We went to a Mexican Restaurant that we had been meaning to try, El Famoso, with a reputation for good queso. I had been waiting to give him his gift all night but I already knew the gift card I had for him would be nothing compared to the ramblings of what I heard he had for me.

You see, Kanyon is really bad at keeping a secret from me when he is excited. It’s kind of cute because he will tell me that I won’t get any hints from him in a way that is worded more to convince himself. It’s as if he has to remind himself, “don’t tell her” repeatedly as I sit back and wait for him to tell me more.

At dinner, he pulled out a box and opened up a pair of gorgeous diamond earrings. I wish I could say that it was a complete surprise but as before mentioned, he is not good at holding back things from me. I put them on, immediately feeling shame for the gift I gave him. This was the first time I have given him a gift card because I wanted him to buy a suit he could wear to the scholarship banquets and job interviews that were sure to come. Not the most romantic of gifts but I knew it would be one that would serve him the most seeing as though he can play out the logistics of buying a $400 guitar but won’t pay $300 for a suit. I can’t judge, I do the same things with clothes and books.

After we arrived back at the hotel the cold winter air was blowing in from the North. He asked me if I wanted to walk down the city’s river walk and I wasn’t convinced it was a good idea. It was dark, after all, and I had on my shiny new earrings. I caved as he pleaded his case and walked the two blocks down to the entrance of the walkway. We held hands and took a couple of shivering selfies before a blistering wind blew through the cracks of the buildings and picked up the chill of the river’s water.

I oh, so eloquently said, “Okay, I’m done.” and turned to exit back up the stairs.

He called behind me, “Wait, I have to tie my shoe.”

I didn’t even look back as I continued to wattle my nice shoes on the cobblestone ground, “I’ll meet you at the stairs. You can catch up.”

He called out for me to turn around but I continued to keep walking. It wasn’t until he called out, “Lauren, for the love of God, turn around!”

Time stopped. To my surprise, there he was on one knee with a diamond ring shining just as brightly as the lights sparkled off the water. I couldn’t move. He was actually proposing and I had no idea it was coming.

I wish I could tell you all the wonderful things he said verbatim but I can’t seem to remember the phrasing just right. However, I can tell you about the look in his eye of fear and love. I can tell you about how our time dating together flashed before my eyes as if it was all leading up to this moment. A moment I would never forget. I no longer felt cold, or tired, or any other emotion other than joy in its purest form.

We laughed about how I ran away from him and I buried my head in the crook of his neck. I said yes about a thousand times as I wrapped him in my arms and showered him with kisses.

In my heart, I know this is just the beginning for us, and I can’t wait to share more with you all. So expect wedding planning posts along with book reviews in the months to come.