The Way We Decided to Get Hitched, Part I.

I'm just a few months shy of two-years of blogging. Initially I started this blog hoping that I could develop it into a 'real website', a collection of recipes, housekeeping tips, pregnancy and infant info (ha) etc. But besides the fact that there are many, many other blogs that do that job infinitely better than I could dream of doing it, I have definitely learned over the past (almost) two years that my heart's not into that. Sure, it would be nice to have a blog like this one or this one, but you can bet that those blogs are A Lot of Work.

Also, my life doesn't look like that, so I'd be hard-pressed to blog like that. Key sticking point there.

Still, I'm happy with my blog. I've come to realize that it's serving more as a journal of these early years of our marriage than a hub for the masses. And as I've said before, writing my thoughts down in a diary is not a strength of mine, so having a few readers to spur me to posting (hi, Mom! hi, Dad!) helps me keep a record. I've already read back over my limited archives and laughed at memories I'd already forgotten. I'd like to keep doing that.

Now, after that long-winded introduction to what will undoubtedly be a long post (what's new?), I'd like to tell you about Our Engagement. Of course, both of you (hi, Mom and Dad!) know this story, but I want to write it down anyway. I'm sure that in my mind, the finer points will grow hazy through the years. I hope it will stay here for me to read later.

The Way We Agreed to Get Hitched, Part I.

Brian and I had a whirlwind relationship that started in the summer of 2005. To me, Brian seemed too good to be true. I felt giddy at the thought of him. I was certain God would dangle the possibility of a relationship with Brian over my head and then snatch it away, if only to illustrate that my wrong choices through the prior years had reaped their consequences. So when Brian, who had not yet come right out with his intentions to date me, told me that he would be moving to North Carolina at the end of the summer, I was crestfallen. Surely now God was pulling him out of reach, I concluded.

But the night before he drove south for good, he stopped by the house and told me he wanted me to be his girlfriend. Knowing now that we were serious about each other, but also realizing that a new, long-distance relationship would be difficult to navigate, we agreed to a trial run. I had a semester of college in front of me and he had a new city and a new job. We agreed to see how things looked by Christmas.

Then, in September, his accident happened. Whisked away from a dream hunt in Alaska, Brian found himself back in Detroit, consulting with specialists to see if he would ever regain sight in his right eye. For a few weeks of this time, he stayed with me and my family. Brian's faith and integrity through these dark circumstances showed me that he was exactly the man I wanted to marry. I now see that one blessing of those horrific months was that we fell in love with each other, though I don't think either of us realized it at the time.

In November, he told me that he loved me for the first time. By December, we knew beyond a shadow of a doubt that we wanted to be married. Still, it shocked me when, on the way to the airport after his Christmas visit, Brian told me that he planned to schedule two weeks of vacation for 2006 - one for a bowhunting trip, and one for a honeymoon. That night I sat in the basement with my family, watching the movie Polar Express with everyone but not paying any attention to the movie. Instead, I was thinking that I had just spent my last Christmas at home and I hadn't even realized it.

I guess that sounds a little bit sad, but I was more thrilled to be married than sad to move away. It was just the rush of it all that took my breath away. That January my best friend's mom passed away, and I remember that winter as a time of sadness more than excited anticipation. But Brian and I were chatting over the phone one night and he said, "Let's pick our wedding date."

Poor guy. He was lonely, still adjusting to his new disability and his new location, and - of course - head over HEELS in love with me. :) Of course he was anxious to get married! But even knowing that, I was taken aback when he then said, "How about June?"

To be continued!

Part II

Part III