the fall of 1998
We met at in our basic computer class on January 7, 1998.. He was sitting in the same row as me. As soon as I saw his smile I knew he was the one for me. We became friends by the end of the week and we knew that we would date.
By the end of January we had had our first kiss and had "the talk" that established us as an "official" couple. By February I knew beyond a doubt that I would marry this man I already loved. It took a little longer for him to be sure but he knew pretty close to then too.
That May (1998) we got "promised" which is basically promising to each other that there will be a future marriage and an engagement ring when he had save up enough to get the ring.
our friend Jason on right
April 17th I was at his parents house for his mom's birthday. His family and him planned on a picnic at a beach near Muskegon ( on Lake Michigan) supposedly just for a nice day. Then later we were meeting and going to dinner with his whole family for her b-day. That morning I woke up and thought ...picnic on the sand dunes....I think this is the day.
I held my excitement in as we calmly got ready and packed our picnic.
We drove to Muskegon and in the car I KNEW that this was indeed the day. My sweet guy who liked Metallica and U2, had put on romantic music. It was a dead giveaway but I pretended like I didn't figure it out as I got more and more excited.
We reached the sand dunes and had our picnic. As we reached the end of the lunch, he said he had something to tell me. He went on to tell me how much he loved me and how much I meant to him, and how glad he was that we were together. Then he got down on one knee and recited a poem he had written me telling me the reasons why he loved me. By the end of the poem he was asking me to be his wife and he pulled out a box with my engagement ring I threw my arms around him and told him "Yes I will be your wife with all my heart" and we were officially engaged. The winds blew and the rain came down but the joy in my heart made it seem just a detail.
We came back and went out to dinner with his family for his mom's b-day and got to announce our OFFICIAL engagement. We of course had already been planning our wedding but he had finally been able to get the ring. I got back and called my mom right away.