i am not the girl that cries at chick flicks, when the guy finally gets the girl. i do not squeal high-pitchedly when something exciting happens, like hearing about a new pregnancy. i barely even get a lump in my throat when the most heartfelt, sappy love song comes on the radio.
so, i believe i was the most surprised person to find out that i could be reduced to a sobbing mess when Taylor proposed. yep, we are officially an engaged couple. *cue sappy love song*
i was having a bad day. make that a horrible day. one for the books. a lot of the reasons for my mood may seem silly, but that's only because they are. have you ever woken up and just knew, within a few minutes, that it would be better just to go back to bed? yea. it all started when taylor woke up (this was Saturday, when we usually sleep in) at 9-ish and bounded out of bed and started cleaning. he was perky too. the kind of unholy perky that makes you want to punch a dolphin. i am not a morning person, mind you. so with me wanting to slap that adorable grin off his face, and being all-around mad at the world for waking up so early, i rolled out of bed thinking about clouds, profanities, and why the hell taylor was so happy.
I almost stepped in
Excrement a la Daisy as soon as i stood up. yay, days without potty training accidents are back to zero. taylor heard me mumble something about crap, and he walked in and said
"oh hey! you're up! wanna go for a walk? its beautiful outside."
i looked out the window. why yes, it looked both sunny and inviting.
alright, i thought,
but i won't like it.
"sure...let me get ready first, and im hungry, and daisy *mumble grumble* on the floor."
"oooookay!" said taylor, and skipped happily off to do more nice things like washing dishes. weirdo.
i walked to the bathroom and surveyed myself.
should i wash my hair? naaaah, i'll just tie it back and no one will know. in the midst of doing this, my favorite hair tie broke. i tried to throw it in the trash and i missed. also, taylor didn't put a new liner in after he took the trash out. i gave up in the bathroom and tried my luck in the kitchen, where taylor has just finished starting a load of dishes. i gave him a look that dared him to ask how i was doing, and reached in the pantry for some instant oatmeal. my favorite, maple and brown sugar, was out and all i had left was apple and walnut. fine. as i warmed up my oatmeal in the microwave, i saw that i had neglected my house plant too long and it was drooping to the point of exhaustion. i hastily watered it, and turned back to my oatmeal. of course! i made it too runny.
i'm too much of a penny-pincher to throw an entire packet of instant oatmeal away, so i sadly slurped my breakfast at the dining table. This was the point that i first noticed that something was up, as i watched Taylor in all his engagement-day glory (unbeknownst to me). but i didn't have long to dwell on that, because i saw that Daisy had just peed on the carpet.
the rest of the morning continued just as miserably and self-pityingly, but let's cut to the chase.
so we were on our walk, Daisy in tow, and we had meandered over to the park that was close to our house. it was right beside the dog park, which was why i thought was the reason for going, because i was under the impression that the walk was mainly for Daisy's exercise. But first, we sat on the swings where we had once talked on our first date/hang out.
Then Taylor pulled out an old note I had written a long time ago to him. One time I sent him on a scavenger hunt for "coupons" for things like a free back rub, a movie, dinner, etc. But I had run out of ideas and so on the last one i said "Good for anything you want, so make it good!"
As I read that coupon, it finally clicked. The perkiness, the extra-nice-to-me-even-though-i-don't-deserve-it behavior, the random walk, everything. I looked up at him just as he got up to stand in front of me and kneel down. and he said,
"Nikki, I love you and I want to spend my life with you. Will you marry me?" -with the most adorable quiver in his voice.
Of course, my jaw dropped to the floor. so did the leash and my sunglasses i was holding. i stood up thinking,
i'm supposed to stand up right? --it's funny how you can see hundreds of proposals on tv and think you know what to do, and then when it's your turn you feel like a football player trying to be the star in Swan Lake. But besides that, I said yes. I said yes! *cue crying*
Yes, I bursted into tears like nobody's business.
And it was as simple and perfect as that! If only i'd woken up in a better mood. leave it to me to put a damper on my engagement day. After talking about everything, ("do you KNOW how angry you looked this morning? jeez!") we started walking back to the house. I had to call everyone! Mom and Dad, Jenna, my sisters, and then all my friends. But as i was walking up the stairs to our apartment, I saw Callie, Jenna's dog, come running up to say hi. It was one of those moments where you think
wait, if you're here....then THAT means.....
Yes! My family and Jenna came running around the corner with big "yea, we knew it all along" smiles on their faces. I should have known that they wouldn't have missed this. The rest of the day was a blur of hugs and phone calls.
oh yea! here's the ring :)
**i realize that the purpose of this blog was to document the "in-between" times. but how can i not post about this? besides, there will be plenty more in-betweens to come*
So here we are! one of my longer blogs, but i think the occasion justifies the length. I have a fiance now! and no, I have no idea when/where the big day will be, but we'll get there!
till then, im gonna go look at my ring and daydream a little more :)
