Meet the Parents

Of course I've met Christine's parents before, but never under such dramatic circumstances. After we arrived, we sat down for a nice dinner, and I offered a post-dinner toast. It didn't make much sense given that everyone had already finished their drinks, but it did give me the opportunity to butter up Meg and Dale a bit before telling them The Story.

So the story goes like this. Jason wanted Christine to have a couple of pieces of nice, but simple jewelry, since she didn't wear jewelry. For our 1-year dating anniversary, I gave her a garnet necklace. She of course lost it a few days later, but it was recovered due to the honest intentions of the pool man. For Christmas, I had planned to get her a ring. I thought it might be fun for her to have a 2-stone ring, with each stone representing our birthstones. So I worked with a designer to configure a simple ring with a sapphire and a peridot.

As I was go through the process, I realize that I really want to marry Christine. I've nurtured this thought for some time, but at this point, the thought has become reality. I want to ask Christine to marry me. So I decide to use the Christmas Ring as a Proposal Ring, and, if accepted, as a placeholder for an Engagement Ring. Taking this approach worked really well for a number of reasons:

- Christine has the privilege of being the first person on Earth to hear my intention to marry her.

- Engagement rings are an ordeal to purchase and in some cases a greater ordeal to return in the event that things fall apart (and the center cannot hold).

The Story was well received. There were tears on both sides of the table. I'm excited for the future.

Big Moment for Jason

I proposed to Christine on Thursday night. I've been thinking about it for several weeks now. And I was going to get her a ring for Christmas anyway, so I already had the primary prop for the occasion. She said yes by the way.

I barely remember the moment. The days and moments leading up to a proposal offer an extremely fragile and vulnerable time for a young man. I suppose I could have done more prep work and made certain that I knew what the answer would be before asking such a question. But I'm glad that it was a surprise. I'm glad we didn't feel the need to talk about it ahead of time and plan it all out. Deep down (in places that I don't like to talk about at parties), I've always romanticized the concepts of falling in love, getting engaged, and being married. My preconceptions have never been terribly constrained by reality.

Therefore, I had to put myself out there on the emotional ledge a bit. I could have been destroyed if she had said "no." Maybe it's the closeness to disaster that creates an even more meaningful event. In any case, it was a great moment, and one that I'll always cherish.

I think she said "yes" before I was finished with the question. That was extremely helpful for my longevity, because every second inserted in that interval would have taken days off my life.