1.19

Three years ago today was a very exciting day in my life. Three years ago today, my wonderful husband asked me to be his wife! And I'm pretty glad he did. I know most of you probably know the story of our engagement already, but I'm feeling nostalgic today and want to relive it. So, here we go!

The basis for the date started ten years ago today, on January 19, 1999. Eric and I were two sixteen-year-olds in love, and on that day Eric promised that one day, he would ask me to marry him. Now, we did realize we were young and we really didn't know where we would end up. And, as tends to happen, high school romance soon gave way to the ups and downs of college life. But, even when we weren't together, we always remembered the 19th.

When we eventually got back together in college in 2002, it was with a condition that our relationship would be much less intense...more about fun than future, if that makes sense. And we were very happy. We moved to DC in 2005, and by that time, the topic of marriage was every so often being mentioned. However, I fully believed that a proposal wasn't even on the horizon for another year or so. "Just for fun," however, we went looking at engagement rings in January of 2006. You know, "just to see what I liked." I was hopeful, but still didn't expect much to come of it for some time. Little did I know that while we were looking at rings, Eric had already purchased a ring for me and had it hidden in our roommate Jeff's closet!

On January 19, 2006, we planned to go out to the National Mall and walk around the monuments at night, after I got off work. The monuments are so gorgeous at night; it's probably my favorite time to see them. Eric requested that we each write a "speech" about our relationship to share with each other while we were out. So, I spent quite some time at work that day writing Eric a letter to read that night. I also drew little pictures representing important moments in our relationship around the edges of the paper, as I used to do when I would write him notes in high school. For example, I drew a pine trees to represent where we first met (at Whispering Pines), a roller skate to represent our first date (we went skating and laughed until our faces hurt), a milk shake to represent Steak 'N Shake (where we worked together; also the job I got to pay to take him to my homecoming!), etc.

When I got off work that night, Eric had a red rose waiting for me at home. He was throwing together his "speech" (he actually hadn't planned to write anything!), although he said he couldn't figure out how to end it. But, we went out on our way anyway. We stopped first for a very romantic dinner of McDonald's for me, and Chipotle for Eric. Fancy! Then, we made our way out to the mall.

We walked down to the Lincoln Memorial (my favorite one), just talking and enjoying the evening. It was very cold, and at one point I tried to put my hand in his pocket, but he wouldn't let me. Turns out he had the ring in there! When we got to Lincoln, we took some time to read the speeches inscribed on the walls before taking a seat on one of the many steps, looking out at the Washington Monument and the reflecting pool. We covered up with a blanket I had brought and soon it came time to read our speeches to each other. I went first, and this is what I said:

Dear Eric Ryan,

I thought today I would give you a letter reminiscent of the letters I used to write you in high school. I am so amazed at how far we've come in our relationship, and I am so thankful for every day we've shared. I thought that, after all these years, you might like to hear some of the reasons why I love you.

I love you because you came into my life at the time when I needed you the most. I truly believe that you were the answer to my prayers, and I thank God for you every day. You gave me so much hope and showed me a happiness that I never would have dreamed would to be possible.

I love you because to this day, you can make me smile until my face hurts. You still give me butterflies in my stomach and make my heart skip a beat. Every day reminds me of our roller-skating date, because even though our relationship has changed since then, my feelings of delight to be with you have always remained constant.

I love you for listening to me. You let me ramble on about insignificant things, but you always listen as if they were of vital importance. You are always willing to offer advice and support, and I appreciate that.

I love you for your faith. It has been amazing to watch you grow, and I admire your eagerness to share your faith with others. I love that you push me to be a better person and pursue a closer relationship with God.

I love you for your relationship with your family. I love that you are close with them and love and respect them so much. I know that the relationship you have with them signifies the relationship that you will have with your own family someday.

I love you for your humor. I love your sarcasm and your wit. I love that we are able to laugh together at so many things.

I love you for your intelligence and insight. I love that you are always trying to think about things in new ways, and you challenge me to do the same.

I love that we are each others' biggest fans. We each want nothing more than for the other to be a success, and we have such faith in each others' abilities.

I love that we are so alike and so different at the same time. Despite our separate interests, something fits just right.

I love that you always make me feel beautiful. Even on those days when I feel fat, or my hair is crazy, or I am sick with a cold and a hearty cough, you can always make me feel like the prettiest girl. I could quite possibly go on like this for days. There are so many more things I love about you - your smile, your laugh, your eyes, your voice, your selflessness, your ambition, your kindness, and on and on - but most of all, I love that through all of our ups and downs over the years, I knew in my heart that you would always be a part of my life. I know that our love "bears all things, believes all things, endures all things!"

Thank you, Eric Ryan, for letting me share the last seven years with you. Thank you for all of the laughs and tears and hugs and kisses and cuddles and times on benches. I hope that we can share many more benches for many more years!

Love, Meghan

By the time I finished reading my letter, Eric was shaking. I thought it was just that he was cold (it was FREEZING out), but he said he was fine and was pushing the blankets off his legs. He said he had finally thought of a way to end his speech, so he started reading what he had written for me:

Meghan Elizabeth,

It has been a tremendous privilege to watch you grow into an amazing woman. I am so proud of everything you have done, and will continue to do. I think you are gorgeous. You have the prettiest eyes, the softest skin, and the finest features of any one woman I know. As I try my best to be more spontaneous, you have succeeded at becoming more fun and open-minded. You represent the total package. I have no doubt; God must've spent a little more time on you.

Seven years ago to the day, I promised, and I swear, that I will be there when everything in your life makes you truly happy. If that happens when we meet in Heaven, wonderful. But if there is anything I can do on this Earth to help you along, I want to know so I can do it. I repeat this promise to you as the very least I can for your having seen to it that I am truly happy by just being me.

It's hard to argue that our relationship was true love at first sight. I blame the expression. You can certainly desire someone you see in passing, having no interaction other than a first "sight." But you can't love that person. The dictionary requires "an intense feeling of deep affection." A first "sight" allows a feeling only skin deep. Meghan, I feel in love with you at the first possible moment we spent together as total people. I felt as though I was in a dream at the roller rink. Every time I look into your eyes, I feel like am still in that same dream.

I love everything about you. Seven years ago to the day, I asked you an important question. You said yes, and my life and the love I felt for you has continued to multiply in happiness. There is no one else on Earth I can see spending the rest of my life with, and if I could stretch the outer bounds of my imagination, it would fall short of what I have found in you.

So, Meghan Elizabeth...will you marry me?

At this point he was down on one knee in front of me, holding a ring. I was absolutely shocked. Despite the important anniversary, I had no idea he had planned to propose. In fact, I even debated leaving out the part of my letter that talks about his "future family" because I thought that might be putting too much commitment pressure on him, and I wasn't sure he was ready for that! So I was just completely surprised to see him on his knee in front of me.

Naturally, I said yes, as a girl tends to do when the man she loves says sweet things to her and then gives her a ring. And I cried, also as I tend to do. The ring was beautiful, and the engagment was a dream come true. We left shortly after that, because in case I haven't mentioned, it was COLD. Even though my hands were freezing, I didn't want to put my gloves on and cover up my ring! On the whole way back to the metro, Eric was just spilling over, happy finally to have his secret out in the open. He shared details about how it all came to be and kept asking if I was really surprised! He was really cute. Then, I spent the whole metro ride home staring back and forth between Eric and my newly engaged finger and grinning like an idiot.

I remember waking up the next morning and looking down at my finger again in disbelief. I was so, so happy. I had to go to work that day, unfortunately, and I had class that night and all the next day, so I was hard-pressed to even find time to call family and friends to share our good news! That was torture, I tell ya.

Now, three years later, Eric and I are married and happier than ever. He planned the perfect proposal and it is now one of my most favorite memories. He's the best husband a girl could ask for.

I love you, Eric Ryan! Happy Anniversary!

We actually went out and bought a new digital camera so we could take this picture soon after the proposal!