Philip’s Proposal

March 26, 2005 – The day Philip and I met

March 26, 2007 – The day Philip proposed to me

Today, March 26, 2013 – 8 years since Philip and I met, 6 years since Philip proposed

Wow! It’s so cliche to say that “time flies,” but, wow, time flies. Each year seems to go by faster than the last, and the day that Philip and I met seems like a lifetime ago.

The proposal story won’t make much sense if you haven’t read about the day we met, so start there.

Fast forward two years later. We were both in our senior years of undergrad. Philip was preparing for graduation in May and the start of medical school in the fall. I was chomping at the bit to get more of my seemingly endless credits out of the way so that I could start my practicum and student teaching in secondary (high school) Spanish. (Yes, it took me the full five years to finish undergrad!)

Philip and I spent our senior year spring break visiting my parents who were living in Florida at the time. One morning while we were there, I slept in while sneaky Philip asked my parents to breakfast. While out to eat, he asked their permission to propose marriage.

At some point that month, Philip went with one of his best friends to pick out the ring, and he worked out the proposal in his head. Philip and I talked a lot about marriage, and I knew a proposal was probably coming soon, but I had no idea when or how.

The night before Philip proposed, we had gone out with some friends and came back to the dorms where I was an RA. Philip left my room after I fell asleep. I woke up the next day to my alarm blaring. I was confused because it was a Saturday and I didn’t remember setting the alarm the night before. On top of the alarm clock was a stack of beautiful stationery.

The top page had the very first message that I had sent Philip on Facebook to say that our mutual friends told me that we would be working at the same summer camp and that we should meet. The following page had his responding message, the one under that had my response back, and so on, until the last message before the day we met. The last page invited me to an outdoor picnic celebrating the day we met over a game of Scrabble, coffee, and bagels.

Despite the rain clouds I saw forming outdoors, I followed instructions to get ready for the day and to be ready for our picnic in an hour. Per usual, Philip arrived at my door right on time, and I was still getting ready. I opened the door, gave him a hug and a kiss, and told him I’d be ready in a few minutes. In my RA room, I had a separate closet/vanity area where I finished putting on my makeup and drying my hair while Philip waited on my futon. He said he’d set up our little picnic indoors since the weather rained out his original plan. We talked as I got ready, but I wasn’t looking or paying attention to what he was doing in the living area.

When I came out, two bagels and coffees were sitting on the coffee table next to Philip’s travel Scrabble game and two dozen roses. Philip is very much a romantic, so I of course appreciated the sentimentality, but I didn’t think, “Oh, wow, this is it! He is proposing!”

Philip told me that he had picked up the exact orders we placed the morning we met–wheat bagel with berry cream cheese for me, asiago with veggie cream cheese for him, white chocolate mocha with peppermint for me, and a large coffee with room for cream for him. (As you might have guessed, that date was my first real cup of coffee, and I had no idea what I was doing!) Philip explained that the two dozen roses (one red, one white) were for the two years since we met.

We reminisced about those two years over our coffee and bagels. Then, Philip asked me if I wanted to play a game of Scrabble “just like the day we met.” I think I said something like, “Only if you want to lose like the day we met.” The travel Scrabble board was still folded over, and Philip, being a gentleman, handed me the bag of tiles to draw my letters first.

When I reached into the bag, I felt a small, velvet box. Philip smiled, took the box from me, and opened it to show me a beautiful ring. I wish he had placed a hidden camera somewhere so that I could remember exactly what he said. I know he told me how much he loved me, how much he loved our relationship, and how much he wanted to spend the rest of his life with me. Then, he opened up the travel Scrabble board. He had super glued the tiles in place:

Of course, I cried, said yes, we had a big smooch, and we started making all of the happy phone calls to our family and friends to share the news.

I had no idea that Philip was proposing until I felt that box with the ring in it and watched him get down on one knee. I love that he planned out every last detail but kept it understated and private enough that I wouldn’t catch on. I also love that I knew nothing about the ring and that he picked it out all by himself. He had asked me once what I generally liked in ring styles, but, looking back, I was pretty vague, and he did a great job of picking out a ring that suited me perfectly.

I can’t find a picture of the engagement ring from the day, so here’s a picture of our rings on our wedding day on top of my bridal bouquet: