What I'm Doing

Tuesday, May 08, 2007

Engagement

(Note: This is a cross-posting from a journal entry I posted over at Christdot)

Well, I've been rather busy, so I'm a few days late posting this.

Anyway, Kristen and I are engaged! I proposed this past Saturday, May 5. Now that the initial announcement is over, here's the story:

I decided to propose on May 5 because it was the three-year anniversary of our meeting. It was also my birthday, which some people seem to think is noteworthy. In addition, I wanted to do something reminiscent of our first summer together, and, in particular, one day that we spent together that was probably as close to a "first date" as we have.

On that day, we had gone to a nearby state park (Kennesaw Mountain) to hike, as we were wont to do (sometimes with friends, sometimes alone). Afterwards, we went to Waffle House for lunch. Then, I wanted to go put a slinky on an escalator at the mall, and after we did that, we went to see Spider Man 2.

So, with that background out of the way, here's how it all happened:

Kristen had known that I had the ring for a while, and she'd been bugging me about when I was going to propose. Concerned that I might give away my plan if I kept trying to fend her off, I devised a game.

If you have read The Hobbit, I'm sure you, at least vaguely, remember the part where Gollum and Bilbo have the riddle contest, which ends with Bilbo's wondering aloud what he has in his pocket (he'd forgotten he'd picked up the ring), and Gollum's mistaking it for a riddle. So, I gave her a riddle each day from that sequence that she had to solve in order to get a hint. I had it timed so that the last riddle, "what is in my pocket?", would fall on May 5.

As it happens, we went to a late showing of Spider Man 3 on May 4 with some friends (that wasn't originally part of my plan, actually), and then, on the 5th, we went to lunch at Waffle House, and I took her up to Kennesaw Mountain. We found a slightly secluded spot, and, after waiting there for a moment, I said it was time for the next riddle.

By this point, Kristen had figured out where the riddles were coming from, and she knew that I knew. So, when I asked her what was in my pocket, she thought I might try to fake her out, and guessed a few different things. After 3 guesses, I took out the ring, gave a little impromptu speech, and asked her to marry me. Apparently, I didn't phrase the question correctly, because she made me "ask her properly." And, of course, she said "yes."

We then made the rounds to visit both sets of parents, and have been slowly informing everyone else since then.

Oh, and I took some photos in the aftermath of the proposal, which you can see here.

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