Engagement

On the Metro on our way back from DC, after I had proposed but before we called anyone, Amanda and I were discussing what reactions we would get from our families (specifically, our mothers; in my case, my two mothers). When we realized that we really didn’t know how they would react, I said, “Ooh, I didn’t really think this through—can I take it back?” Everyone we spoke to in the first few hours, however, was really excited, and the support has continued since then. I suppose it shouldn’t be a surprise, because news like this is some of the best news anyonce could ever hope to have, but there was some fear-of-the-unknown hanging around. So, to everyone who has offered their congratulations (here and over the phone): thank you.

My initial announcement, may have left a little to be desired, so here’s how it happened. A couple weeks ago, I decided it was time to make our plans (we’ve talked about this before) official, and I wanted it to be at least somewhat memorable. Visiting the Cherry Blossom Festival this year had been a plan of ours for awhile, so I settled on that date. The actual execution was another matter: I knew (because she told me) that Amanda was not at all interested in a big showy public proposal, but the public is hard to escape the weekend of peak bloom. To keep it “quiet” at the tidal basin, I wrote down the question and a couple options last Thursday on a small piece of paper while at work (since that’s the only time we’re ever really apart) and kept it in my wallet. I didn’t tell anyone else about my plans, which officially makes this the biggest secret I’ve ever kept.

The crowds at the tidal basin on Saturday afternoon almost made me reconsider my plan, but I found a relatively quiet spot under a couple cherry trees, off the path, and stood there for a minute or two under the pretense of trying to frame some cool pictures (which I actually did—they will be posted as soon as I get a chance). I worked up some courage, reached into my wallet, handed the piece of paper to Amanda (“What’s this?” she asked incredulously), crouched down (it was muddy—had I kneeled, I would have ruined my jeans), and asked the question I’ve wanted to ask for months. She said yes and reached for a pen from her bookbag to check the top box. The piece of paper is back in my wallet now, and will stay there for a long, long time.

We’re not going to focus on the actual wedding for at least a couple months, so there’s no immediate worry that this will become a wedding-blog (but I’m making no long-term promises). We’re going out on our North American Tour at the end of May, and we’ve got enough planning to do just to make that run smoothly. Mom says we can’t stay engaged for longer than a year, but we’re setting an outside limit at three. By then, Amanda will (hopefully) be finishing up her Masters. Amy demands that we not be “engaged for fourteen years like Nathan and Adelaide,” and I feel confident that we can meet that deadline, at least.

As a side note, I should mention that I asked Amanda how to spell “fiance” during the drive home. Between the two of us, we came up with F-I-A-N-C-E-E-with-the-thing-over-the-last-e, but that’s not quite right: I am Amanda’s fiancé, while Amanda is my fiancée. Confusing, to say the least, especially considering that they are pronounced the same. I can’t understand the uproar over the lack of French support for Gulf War II when nothing is made of this irritating linguistic gaffe.

Update: I finally posted a few of the pictures I took on the fateful day.

April 05, 2004 - 11:42 AM