The List
Don't lie. You know you had/have one too. The list of things you look for in a guy/girl when you're finding someone to marry.
For example:
- Good looking
- Rich
- Religious
- Great cook!
- Great sense of humor
- etc.
We ALL had/have "The List". Trust me, after getting divorced my list was quite lengthy and included things I had previously left off "The List." But after months of dating and 2 years of being divorced, I had narrowed down my list to the two most important things I wanted in a future spouse.
My List:
1. Treats me well and loves me unconditionally
2. Treats my girls well and loves them like his own children
After spending time with Bryan it became clear that he more than satisfied both requirements on my list.
Once we became exclusive, I think we quickly both knew where we wanted the relationship to go. We had both been married before and it seems like there's a sort of knowledge that comes with knowing what being married is like. We both knew the exact type of person we needed to be with to have a successful marriage and a happy life. It seemed obvious to me. I knew he was someone who I could be with forever.
For example:
- Good looking
- Rich
- Religious
- Great cook!
- Great sense of humor
- etc.
We ALL had/have "The List". Trust me, after getting divorced my list was quite lengthy and included things I had previously left off "The List." But after months of dating and 2 years of being divorced, I had narrowed down my list to the two most important things I wanted in a future spouse.
My List:
1. Treats me well and loves me unconditionally
2. Treats my girls well and loves them like his own children
After spending time with Bryan it became clear that he more than satisfied both requirements on my list.
Once we became exclusive, I think we quickly both knew where we wanted the relationship to go. We had both been married before and it seems like there's a sort of knowledge that comes with knowing what being married is like. We both knew the exact type of person we needed to be with to have a successful marriage and a happy life. It seemed obvious to me. I knew he was someone who I could be with forever.
Three Little Words - June 10, 2012
We were both beating around the bush of discussing "marriage." It was like we knew we were both on the same page, but at the same time didn't want to risk the other person not being on the same page. We talked about 10,000 years together instead of saying the "m" word. After avoiding the "m" word the entire day, Bryan finally dropped the word we had been avoiding... "marriage". Later that night I asked, "Could you see yourself marrying me?" He said "yes" and then he said "I love you". It seriously knocked the wind out of me. I knew he loved me. I had known it early into the relationship just by the way he looked at me. He's one of those guys that you know loves the woman he's with just by the way he looks at her. I loved him too. And since he said it first, I was more than happy to say it back.
Preparing
Want to know another reason I knew Bryan was the one..? Because I was more excited to plan a life with him, than to plan a wedding.
Of course I flew to Utah to buy a dress, Bryan and I went ring shopping, we picked out a venue, started booking vendors, but weren't even officially engaged yet. It didn't bother me at all. I'm a planner... so if I could plan while I waited for the formal proposal I was fine with that. |
Waiting for the Proposal
I knew he was nervous. Super nervous about proposing to me. The fact that I knew he had written down lists of ideas of how to propose to me was so sweet. I let him know that all I cared about was that it was thoughtful. One day, he showed me this site and let me read the "Just Dating" section he had written. It was the MOST thoughtful thing anyone had ever done for me. It was great to read about our relationship from his point-of-view. Little did I know that the thoughtfulness of this site had to do with how he would propose to me. So instead, I just waited for the day when he would pop the question.
The Proposal
I'm not going to lie. I was suspicious when he told me we were going to dance at the TaeKwonDo school, and when I asked him what I should wear he told me to wear normal clothes (not workout clothes). Normally, there wasn't a fancy dress code for our dates, so I did become suspicious when I was given a suggestion on what to wear. But as the evening went on, I became pretty sure that the proposal wasn't going to happen. It didn't worry me, I just figured another day, another time. We practiced dancing and then he let me read the "Exclusive" part of this site that he had written. After reading all of his thoughtful words I sat down on the futon. He got down on one knee, opened up a box... upside-down :)... and inside was my super blingy ring. He asked me to marry him. I paused and then said "Of course!" The spot of our first date was the place he proposed to me.
I remember sitting on that futon on our first date and thinking, "This guy is just wonderful! Too bad I'm not interested because it would be great to be with a guy as great as him." And I sat there two months later being proposed to by my best friend, the love of my life, and the best man I have ever met. It was perfect. |