Rules of Engagement

I have struggled to come up with an appropriate way to share the big news that happened recently. I had considered a romantic ode attempting to articulate my feelings, but I soon realized that this was bound to fail. I thought of resorting to humor, but this too seemed inappropriate. Breaking the news through the use a sailing metaphor was considered, then quickly dismissed. Simply reporting the sequence of events was an option, albeit a boring approach. Instead, I’ll just state the news directly: on July 1st I got engaged to my lovely girlfriend, Megan.

I have known from the very beginning that this was the person who I wanted to marry. It seems odd that the right person for me would be stashed away in Nebraska, but here we are.

The proposal took place on our trip east to visit my family. We first flew to Ohio, where we attended my cousin John’s wedding. This was Megan’s first opportunity to meet my mom’s side of the family and they seemed to take to her as quickly as I had. After less than two days in Ohio, my brother drove us to New England, stopping in a backcountry town in Pennsylvania to take in the European Championship final. (Despite nearly being shut out by the Nascar-loving burg, we eventually found an empty Italian restaurant that was kind enough to change the channel and to allow us to linger for the full 90 minutes.) Following a pleasant night at my brother’s apartment in Connecticut, my parents, who had flown into Boston, picked us up and drove us on to Cape Cod. In Onset, Megan was introduced to my dad’s side of the family and once again impressively rose to the challenge.

Johns Wedding

On Tuesday, as a break from the attentive curiosity of my family, Megan and I drove down the Cape on the scenic Route 3A. We stopped at the Cape Cod Canal, the Edward Gorey museum, and generally enjoyed the charming towns that drifted past. Our final destination was Nauset beach, where we found a secluded spot for a picnic. The romantic setting was quickly spoiled by an assault of tiny bugs that harassed us until we finally folded up the picnic and went for a walk along the beach. Combing for attractive rocks and seashells and far from any other beachgoers, I decided to spring my surprise and dropped to one knee. To say that Megan was surprised is an understatement. It seemed like an eternity between when I asked and when she finally said “yes.” Fortunately, the answer did eventually come back in the affirmative and, with shaking hands, I slipped the ring on her finger.

The initial shock lingered and, on the ride home between excited calls to family, she burst into loud exclamations of surprise. For dinner, my brother drove up from Connecticut to celebrate at the Daniel Webster Inn along with my parents and my grandmother. The meal was a nice end to an extremely memorable day.

At this point, we have not yet decided on a date or a location for the wedding and we plan to begin addressing the many details over the next couple of months. For now, we are enjoying the newness of calling each other “fiancée” and are spending the summer together in California.

Over the past year, I have been fortunate to have met such a special person, lucky to have had the chance to get to know her, privileged to have “holidated” with her on weekends throughout the country, and blessed to now be able to be engaged to such a wonderful person. I am excited for the many adventures that we have ahead of us and am thrilled to have someone I love with whom I can share the journey.

Engagement on the Beach

4 Replies to “Rules of Engagement”

  1. Congratulations to you both. You are very lucky to have each other and I am so happy for both of you.

  2. Anna Bakowska says:

    Moje najszczersze gratulacje!
    /Congratulations!/

  3. Arno from Crystal Classics says:

    Happiness to both of you – keep the good news coming.

  4. Jeanette Turner says:

    Happiness and blessings for your engagement and coming marriage. I pray that you will enjoy many, many years of ecstasy together!!

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