The Proposal

So Facebook says I'm engaged.  It must be true.  It is true.  Thank goodness.  I am one lucky guy.  So family, friends, how did this all happen?  I decided to dedicate this post to telling the story about how I proposed to Merilee.  I do so fully aware that it will probably fail in it's purpose of reducing the number of times I will be asked to recount it.  I don't mind though.  It's a story I love telling.  The best part is practicing my narration skills.  Shall I begin?  "It was a dark and stormy night..."

Actually, it was a gorgeous day.  I started by trying to call Merilee's dad.  Missouri is two hours ahead and I hadn't talked to him yet.  I had been trying the last day or two but had not been able to catch him at a time good for talking.  The poor man has been sifting through the ashes of his former home and I was trying to be patient yet persistent in having a legitimate conversation.  For chivalry to be appeased, I had to, as they say, "slay the dragon before entering in the Emerald City."  Well, that morning, he was working, so it still wasn't looking hopeful.  It turns out that he tutors.  Like me.


Our 30 second mini-conversations leading up to Saturday had done a good job at accumulating a thick layer of awkwardness.  I had interrupted him yet again that morning and he told me that he would call me back in five minutes.  I waited 20 minutes before I tried giving him another call, which went straight to voicemail.  I would find out later that he had actually said, or meant to say, "call me back in five minutes."  Oh well, I did eventually get a hold of him and got points for persistence in the process.

We started by going from building cleanup at the church to an art studio in Alamo.  It's called Color Bundles.  It's totes legit.  Merilee loves art and I've always wanted to see her work.  Since her house in Missouri burned down, I've been sad that I wont get to see all the art projects she did in college.  How it works at the studio is they sketch something for you, then they teach you how to paint it using acrylic paints.  With the lesson you actually learn how to paint instead of producing something that looks like something your 6 year old painted.  No offense Elizabeth.  I told them to sketch some sort of fruit platter for Merilee, and I sent them a picture of the two of us for them to sketch for me to paint.  Check them out.

 

So as you can see, Merilee is super talented.  I'll admit that I'm impressed with how well I did too, considering that it was my first time painting on canvas.

So one lesson Merilee and I learned from the date is that there is a law in the universe that prevents me from surprising her.  We walked into the studio and the canvases were set up so that we were across from each other and wouldn't be able to see each other's art.  She didn't know that what I had done.  It was going to be the perfect surprise.  It would have been, except she could see through the back of the printed out piece of paper hanging above my canvas.  You can see the same thing was done with hers.  It was disappointing, but I took some comfort knowing that she probably hadn't noticed the ring on her finger that I had the studio artist add.

So the two and a half hour lesson I paid for actually turned into five.  We didn't mind at all because it was actually super fun.  We were a bit hungry though.  We left our art at the studio so it could dry, and we drove down to Chipotle in Dublin.  The art had taken much longer than planned, but we were flexible.  We would soon discover how flexible we could be.

With earnest desires to scarf down a burrito, Merilee's favorite snack, we pulled into the Chipotle parking lot.  Right as I pulled into a spot, I heard the distinct sounds that a tire makes when it is flat.  Many have asked at this point in the story, "but was it a real flat?"  How do you fake a flat?  No, it was real.  Though I didn't feel grateful in the past when I had car issues, I was glad then to be able to show my man strength and change my tire in front of Merilee.  My composure during such a stressful situation probably even more deeply confirmed to her that she was with the right man.  Plus, my biceps increase in size when I'm doing hard labor, which I was confident would please her.

So I changed the tire and put on the donut.  It was flat.  So we got our Chipotle and walked to her house, which was a little over a mile from where we were.  It was a pleasant stroll.  The sun was out.  A light breeze kept me dry and played with Merilee's hair as she tried to stuff beef, rice, and beans into her mouth without chewing on her locks.  I decided to take advantage of the time and called Randy, her dad.  This time we got to have a real conversation so that was good.

As we arrived to her house to get her car, Merilee wanted to go inside and put away her left over burrito bowl.  I told her that it would be fine if we did it later.  She insisted on taking it inside, which I objected to.  I had enlisted her roommate to help prepare the apartment for the proposal that night, and going inside to put something in the fridge would ruin yet another surprise.  I said that I was hungry and might finish off her burrito bowl in the car.  She wasn't buying it.  I pretty much had to force her back into her car.  It was pretty obvious that there was something in her apartment.  Once again that eternal law held true.

We headed up to get our art.  I was still on the phone with Randy at the time.  We, got back to Chipotle, picked up my spare, took it over to Safeway, and filled it.  After putting it on for what felt like the 10th time,  I got in and the car wouldn't move without making a screeching noise.

At that point, I was done with my car for the day.  And I said "hey babe, lets go get some froyo."  So leaving the worries of my broken down car with a week full of classes and finals ahead of me, we went to Tutti Frutti, the froyo place we went to on our very first date.  Unfortunately it was a bit chilly to talk outside like we did that one summer night.  Instead, we sat on a very comfortable couch and talked about what we had enjoyed about the day.  We decided that we would watch Thor when we got home.  It was on netflix and Merilee still hadn't seen it.

We arrived back at her place and headed inside.  It had been a long day, but a really good day.  She knew what was coming next.  She knew she was getting proposed to that night.  She knew that her apartment was going to be decorated somehow when she walked in.  She knew what was on the painting I was about to reveal.  She knew everything.  The only surprise of that day had been the flat tire. 

We opened the door and there was a path of rose petals going from the door to the couch.  There were two dozen pink roses on the table with some fancy candles.  I sat her down across from me and unwrapped the painting.  The rest is all just some mushy stuff.  You know.  I just basically explained to her that the painting was a visual representation of what I want.  She makes me so happy, and I've never been more sure of anything in my entire life than what I want for us.  I got down on one knee, popped the question, and she said yes.  She said yes!  To celebrate I played a video I had queued of fireworks.  I just thought she deserved fireworks when she got engaged.  We made some phone calls and ended the night on a high note by watching Thor.