The Proposal, Part 2

And now, a continuation of my engagement story…Roger’s proposal! (Catch up on Part 1, here!)

So it comes time for me to drive to Tampa.  I get my nails done (tragic designs…I should have kept it simple), because I believed their would be bling on my finger and my hands would be in a lot of photographs.

That night I meet up with my sis and we go to meet my parents at the Tampa airport to say hello.  Then we go to Roger’s hotel where the three of us spend some time hanging out.  While we’re hanging out, Chelsea gets a call that her dog has gone nuts and eaten everything in the house, including eating through a vitamin bottle, and she is now pooping everywhere.  So we all go to Chelsea’s house to assess the situation.  By this point, it’s nearly 12, and I don’t want Roger to be out too, too late.  So I offer to take him home.

While I’m driving (which is very unusual, might I add), he says “hey, is there a park anywhere around here?” And of course, my girl wheels are spinning, and I am thinking to myself, “This is it! Why else would he want to go to a park at midnight!”

We find ourselves driving toward the beautiful Tampa Bay and park at a Presbyterian church.  We walk across the street to the bayfront and walk along it for a while.  We talk about work and how our week was.  And I started thinking, “maybe he won’t propose…maybe he genuinely just wants to know about my week and spend some alone time with me.  Oh well.  This is very nice, at least.”

And then we come to an alcove in the walkway.  Roger starts by saying some very sweet things.  Then he says, “You I know I love you.” And I’m like….duh! Of course, I know that!  And he proceeds to get on one knee and says something like, “And with that being said, will you marry me and be my wife?”

Once he pulled out the ring box and opened it, I immediately grabbed it from his hands and gushed over it! I took it out of the box, but then remembered I hadn’t said yes, and that also, HE was the one that had to put it on me.  Soooo, I gave it back and said, “Oh, you have to do that, right?!” lol.  I was so incandescently happy that I forgot about proposal protocol!

I’ll be honest, because I feel I can be…part of me freaked out by the proposal.  That question of “was I ready?” kept popping up.  But I remembered how I freaked out when he asked me to be his girlfriend, and remembered saying “yes” to that was my best life decision yet, so I knew saying “yes” to him for marriage would be even better!

And don’t get it twisted…it wasn’t that I wasn’t sure if I loved Roger. I knew I loved him with all my heart.  It’s just, the institution of marriage in general is a scary thing, and I tend to be a commitment-phob.  I cried when my parents asked me to buy my aunt’s nice, barely used car because I would have a car payment–and that freaked me out.

All I knew was, this man standing in front of me was more than I ever dreamed of for my husband.  And he continues to surprise me and bless me.  I love him, and am so glad I said yes!

Following the “yes” we of course took several selfies together! I tired to call my jet-lagged parents that night, but had no success.  So we called his parents and were able to share the news with them and his sister.  It was a special time! Which was followed up the next day with loads of calls, texts, and photo shoots, of course! lol

(still on the bayfront after it just happened)
(in the car right before we called his parents)

(in the parking lot of his hotel)

(in the lobby of his hotel)

(the next day!)

(the FBO shot for our announcement!)