How I Became Garland's Fiancé

After being computer-less for 1 1/2 weeks---it wouldn't charge, but now it does!---I'm finally back in action. At least for a little while, I am! Next Saturday, I'll be on a plane to the British Virgin Islands for our annual tropical holiday. What I really want to share before I go is: MY ENGAGEMENT STORY and my 2014 cookie swap details. I can guess which you'd probably like to hear about first...

I mentioned it in my marathon recap, but I'll go ahead and exclaim it again: Yes, I'm finally an engaged lady to my favorite person in the entire world!

It happened exactly a week after the marathon. We'd planned to go to Lexington, VA to visit VMI for their Ring Figure weekend football game against The Citadel. Our "first date" was his Ring Figure in 2008 (six years ago!); and ever since, we've gone back almost every single year to celebrate our "anniversary".

I didn't think much about this year, except that it was the week after the marathon. I was looking forward to staying in a very nice new inn in town, having a few drinks and not having to wake up at a crazy hour on Saturday for the first time in months. A few weeks prior, Garland said in passing that he'd had changed our reservation to include Friday night. He said it'd be nice not to have to rush there on Saturday, and that way we could maybe go for a hike Saturday morning. I shrugged it off, instead focusing on the last-minute marathon details.

Fast forward to Saturday morning and we're walking up House Mountain at 8AM(!) after a nice homemade breakfast at The Georges' Inn. That's right: He didn't let me sleep in AND promised me a nap after the football game, which was destined to never happen. Almost halfway up, we saw a hunter walking the trail ahead of us so we very quickly turned around. I was disappointed because we still had a lot of time to kill before lunch and the game. We very briefly discussed trying to find another hike or just going for a scenic ride. Instead, Garland "decided" we should just take our time back down and take in the view.

We paused at a clearing on the path where you could see the valley through the naked winter trees... He started saying really nice things about me and us... And before I realized it, he went down on one knee and a ring appeared in his hand like a magician and a coin.

My first words of a response were echoed into nature. Sheer shock. Something along the lines of: "REALLY?!?! ARE YOU SERIOUS?! WHO ELSE KNOWS?!" (How did no one tell me or make me suspicious, did my dad know, etc...).

I eventually said yes; and we skipped down the mountain, hand-in-hand. He'd convinced me not to call or text anyone until after lunch so we could just enjoy "being engaged by ourselves". We drove back into Lexington, changed and walked to lunch around 11:30AM. Just before entering the restaurant, he stopped me and said "There's one more surprise...your family and my parents are inside."

My parents, two of my sisters and one brother were all there to surprise me! It was something I never would have dreamed of and was so incredibly special. We all had lunch and went to the football game together---it was so incredible to be able to share the engagement with them in-person and so soon after it happened!

The rest of the weekend was a blur of sports games, drinks, phone calls and more family visits.

Three weeks later and I still can't believe it's happened sometimes. It's funny to look back at the little not-so-obvious clues leading up to the weekend---my sister Cherie tricking me into telling her what I wanted in a ring, Garland not wanting me to clean "his stuff" in fear of me finding the ring, his frustration when his friends couldn't hang out for guys' night the Thursday before. There's a big list. But I thought for sure he wouldn't propose until next fall, when law school and the bar were over.

Lo and behold, he got me good! He got me perfectly. And now he's got me forever. <3