February 5, 2011- Luckiest Girl...

     I am the luckiest girl in the world! Today, after a generous tour of the mill where my boyfriend's brother works, we were on the road to Corvallis to have dinner with his other brother and all the rest of the family who were meeting us there around two pm.  We were running late and didn't arrive until almost four, and as I entered and marveled at all the work that had been done in and around the house since my last visit a short six months ago, I noticed balloons all around the living room. I looked a little closer and realized the balloons said Happy Birthday on them, and I started to wonder whose birthday it was, then I noticed one balloon with the words Happy Birthday followed by my name, and the fog in my brain cleared. There were presents on the tables too, and I instantly felt my face reddening. This was not just a family dinner, but also a celebration of my birthday to happen in a couple of days.  We are leaving for Vancouver, Canada tomorrow, so the celebration had to happen tonight if the family was to be involved.  I feel very blessed that my boyfriend's family has welcomed me into their lives so completely, even though they've only been only to spend limited amounts of time with me over three short visits.  I feel totally comfortable being myself with them at all times, and that doesn't always come so easily for me.  I can stand up in front of strangers or even good friends on the island and teach a class or tell a boisterous story to a group of friends and family at a gathering without a moment's hesitation, but when put on the spot or made the center of attention when I am not expecting it, I suddenly become very nervous and shy.  

     As we socialized and our fantastic hosts made a lovely dinner of salmon, baked potatoes, grilled zucchini, a brewer's salad, and a pan of scrumptious sauteed mushrooms, the presents sat on the table in front of me, and I couldn't help but want to shake and feel them. I've done that since I was a little girl, and I've never grown up or tired of it.  My boyfriend politely moved them away from me and informed me that I had to wait, but within 30 minutes, his mom came over and said she thought it was time to open presents.  As my face grew red again amidst so many camera flashes that I was actually seeing spots trying to read the birthday cards, I opened presents containing a new book, cards with lovely sentiments, chap stick (the perfect gift for an island girl in the dry cold weather of Oregon), a lovely set of jewelry with gorgeous brown and green stones (my favorite colors), and finally a gift from my baby.  I opened it up and discovered a fantastic white gold ring with a Alexandrite stone and a diamond chip off to the side.  It was a deep shade of greenish blue in the skylights of the living room, but later in the light of the kitchen, it was purple.  This was way more than I expected as this trip itself had cost my boyfriend quite a pretty penny, and I assumed that was my present for my birthday, which was way more than enough.  As I looked at him and thanked him for the ring, he told me, "You know that this ring is your birthday present, but if you say you'll marry me, then you can have the one behind you."  As I turned in shock, feeling overwhelmed by it all, my boyfriend's dad was holding another green jewelry box just like the first one.  As I opened it, a gorgeous white gold diamond ring glimmered back at me. I was speechless. "Of course you know what my answer is, I said" as I kissed him. Then, we all realized, my now fiance's brother and my future brother in law had sat down right when the proposal started and began playing his guitar. It was absolutely perfect.

     As I said earlier, when put on the spot in an unprepared for situation, I sometimes fall apart, not knowing what to do or how to react.  I wish I had been more poised for this momentous occasion , but this I know, I couldn't find a better man to spend my life with, and I am still amazed that he wants to be with me.  It's not that we hadn't talked about getting married before, and I knew someday it would happen, but I didn't know how or when, and I didn't realize how privileged and honored I would feel when he actually proposed, privileged to become a part of his clan, honored that he would choose me over all the women in the world. He is my sunshine, my laughter in the rain, my knight in shining armor. I really never knew it could be this way, and I am the luckiest girl in the world! What a wonderful way to start a new year in my life, in our lives together.