Two Years Ago Today

Today is the two-year anniversary of the date Daniel proposed to me. :) We had been courting for nearly a year and a half and we had already set a wedding date, but it hadn't been made official by an actual proposal and an engagement ring yet (ah, the challenges of a long-distance relationship!). I picked Dan up from the airport and, since it was on the way home, we stopped at the church I was hoping to be married in--I wanted to show it to him and make sure he liked it before I pursued reserving it for the wedding.

For those of you fortunate enough to be familiar with the Virginia countryside west of Middleburg, I'll tell you: it was Trinity Episcopal Church in Upperville. . . easily the most beautiful church I have ever seen. All built of stone with heavy wooden and iron-wrought doors, pointed stained-glass windows and a charming cobblestone courtyard with an old, very beautiful tree gracing the center. It was dark when we arrived there, and freezing cold, so we bundled into the dimly lit sanctuary, our footsteps ringing clearly on the hard stone floor. Someone was playing hymns on the humongous organ so we seated ourselves on one of the wooden pews and listened in silence for a long time. Finally we decided it was time to go so we made our way back out through the tiny foyer and into the courtyard, where we discovered (to our intense delight) that it was snowing! I turned and asked Daniel if he liked the church. He smiled and hugged me and then said, "Angel, I love you. Will you marry me?"

Being dense (as usual), I laughed a little and said, "Well of course I'm going to marry you--what do you think we're looking at the church for?" Then I was suddenly hit with the realization that I had just blown off my own marriage proposal as he pulled something from his pocket and said, "Would you like a ring to go with that?" :-P For several seconds I was speechless, staring in the moonlight at the beautiful diamond ring he held, until finally he asked if I was going to say yes or not! I did finally manage to squeak out a yes. ;)

Looking back, I should have known. But the sneaky chap told me he wanted to wait to propose until his next visit, in the springtime. Of course, I believed him and never suspected a thing. ;)

By the way, we didn't get married in that church after all (long story), but at least I may remember it as the church where we got engaged. O:-)