Dave and I met back in 1991, at Banksville Middle Gifted Center. We were both eleven and, as it was early 90's, you can imagine what out fashion sense was like. (Remember Skidz?) And yet, we fell in puppy-love at first sight. And then he moved to Florida. And I had my first long-distance romance - that lasted 3 weeks or so.
The next 10 years were a great big frazzle of phone calls, letters, and email, when we figured out how to work computers. We even dated again for a while in high school before we went our seperate ways for college.
Dave called me out of the blue one night and said, "Hey, I'll be in town next week. Let's have dinner?" and I said yes. That was pretty much it for me. I couldn't get him out of my head, or my heart. I'm guessing it was the same for him. A few months later, we managed to work through the cobwebs and confusion to begin our second long-distance romance...
How He Proposed
From the moment we got back together, in September of 2000, I think I knew he was the one I wanted to marry. I just had to wait for him to propose.
Coming up to Valentine's Day in 2001, he was home on leave for about a month. February 13, we had gone out to lunch with my friend, Jaime. He wanted to stop by his parents house to get something, and then suggested we stop by my dad's place. He and Jaime had been acting really weird all day but, if you know them, this isn't too much a change from normal. The three of us went out to dinner with my brother and then Dave tucked me into bed and headed to his parent's house for the night.
We couldn't pick a restaurant or anywhere that we wanted to go the Valentine's Day, so we decided to cook at home. (This means I cooked and he, well, was there.) After dinner, while I'm still in the scrubby clothes I had on to cook, he drags me to the dining room chair and tells me to sit down and cover me eyes.
When he started his proposal, my brain stopped working. Hence why I dont remember exactly what he said. Neither does he. But I remember that he asked me to be his wife. And I remember that my jaw dropped and that I was crying so much I forgot to say "yes". I finally did, though, much to Dave's relief.
I found out that while at lunch the day before, and when we were at my dad's house, and at dinner, and after he tucked me in (and yes, he really does tuck the covers in all around me) he had been systematically telling/asking my family that he intended to propose. First to Jaime, the my dad, then Rich, then my mom. Amazingly sweet, yes, I know. We went down to my grandma's that night, to tell her. She immediately called my uncle Tom down to take pictures (which someday I will get up here). We spent the rest of the night going around to see my dad and stepmother, and Dave's parents, so we could tell them what he had told them the day before. :) Not that I really minded.
A week later, Dave had to fly up to Connecticut to report to his new command, the USS Augusta, based at Subase New London in Groton, Connecticut. I managed to make 2 trips up to see him before they went on deployment (6 months out to sea). We made plans for me to move up to Connecticut when he returned.