If your a friend or family member that follows me on Facebook or Instagram, then you already know what I’m going to say…
Dave and I are engaged!
It happened last Sunday but, honestly, still doesn’t feel “real”!
Dave usually wakes up about an hour before me so every morning, I wake up and come downstairs, and usually after saying “good morning” the next words out of my mouth are, “Did you make coffee?” Unless we’re out of coffee, the answer is usually “Yes.”
I walked into the kitchen and saw a sign with two cups next to it, and as I finished reading what they said, what was happening hit me—and Dave walked in with the ring!
We met at Rider in 2009 and in short order, bonded over a mutual distaste for accounting, sneaking out for smoke and coffee breaks during painfully boring lectures about credits, debits and god knows what else to become good friends. Little did I know that friendship would be the start of a wonderful relationship at the turn of the New Year 2017 and that the last 3 years, 8 months and counting would be filled with ups and downs, many happy and also a few sad moments, that I couldn’t imagine living through with anyone else.
I knew something was coming since we talked about getting engaged a lot over the last few months. I thought it would’ve been part of the trip we took a few weeks ago (Wildwood and Cape May), coming up over Labor Day weekend (we are looking to rent a boat at the Finger Lakes like we did last year for the Fourth of July), or during a party that his parents usually have in September.
He told me that because of COVID-19, the ring he ordered two months ago was back-ordered, with a ship date that kept getting pushed back, so he canceled the order and placed a new one with rush shipping. But he wanted a good memory to come out of the rollercoaster ride that has been 2020. I would say this is definitely one. 😉
We’re so excited about what’s to come and are on the same page with a lot of fundamentals already: We both are set on having a fall wedding (although I also like the idea of a New Years Eve wedding, too, like my grandparents had when they were married) but because of the current status of the world, want to ensure our guests are comfortable. Next year is iffy, so we are considering waiting until 2022 to officially tie the knot.
Plus… we want to take our time and savor the experience, and of course, save up some money for the wedding and honeymoon, which we already decided will be in Hawaii!
Visiting all 50 states was a bucket list goal I established when I turned 30 last year and said I wanted to give myself the next 10 (now 9…) years to do it. I checked off a lot of states last year prior to COVID-10 so fortunately, I’m half way there — and now look forward to being able to check off Hawaii at the end of 2022 or early 2023!
That won’t stop us from having a good time in the meantime, though. We’re celebrating our “firsts” all over again, this time as an engaged couple. Case in point: tonight, we’re headed to our first dinner party. (gotta state the obvious disclaimer: won’t be a not a huge gathering. Small and literally right next door, with Dave’s parents plus another couple they know.)
