I
started formulating my plan pretty much as soon as I got back from Rome and
settled in on campus. Things like the ring and when I wanted to pop the
question were on my mind throughout the spring semester and into the summer,
slowly formulating the evening that will be detailed below. However, I must
start by thanking a few key people. Thank you to Mr. and Mrs. Magee for raising
such an incredible young woman, guiding her in the faith that has shaped both
of our lives, and for loving and trusting me enough to give me your blessing to
marry your daughter. Shout out to my two
rocks, Katherine Jones and Meredith Holland, for staying calm and putting up
with hours of me agonizing over little details (anyone who has tried to plan
something with me knows two things: 1. I dream big 2. I am painfully
indecisive). This day would not have gone as smoothly as it did without the two
of you. And finally, to the women responsible for raising me, my mother Judy
and my sister Katie, thank you for everything. Thank you for making me watch
countless chick flicks that taught me everything I know about romantic
gestures, thank you for not freaking out when I asked you for advice about
proposing, and above all thank you for welcoming Rylee as part of the family
years ago.
Now, one
of the first decisions (which does not mean I did not change my mind a million
times before the proposal. Nothing was definite until like 48 hours out) was
location. My favorite spot on campus is a bench overlooking St. Mary’s Lake on
Notre Dame’s campus. It is the perfect place at any time of day to just sit and
collect whenever the world gets too hectic, to have life chats with friends, or
simply to appreciate how beautiful this place really is. I knew that since this
place was so special to me, it was the obvious choice in my mind for where I
wanted to ask my bride to marry me. While I wavered on this some, not wanting
to make the location all about me or too difficult of a place to get to
inconspicuously, after some soul searching while walking the Camino in June,
some friends reassured me it was the spot (thanks again Michael, Stuart and
Augie!).
Location
set, the next decision was when! There were several factors that had to play
into this to make the date work. 1. Rylee had to be in South Bend. Not as easy
as it sounds when you consider the fact that we’re college students. 2. I had
to be able to buy a ring. Not as easy as it sounds when you consider the fact
that we’re college students. My parents have a rule that if one of us wants to
live off campus, we need to have a car to ensure we can be fully independent.
I’m not going to go into the saga of what happened to my beloved minivan (rest
in pieces Gregory), but I found myself carless and ringless in August with no
certainty that I would be able to solve both those problems. Rylee and I had
talked for a long time about her visiting for a football game, so after
crunching the numbers I decided to hope for the best and told Rylee to book her
flight for November 1st, the weekend of the Navy game AND the
weekend of our Fall Concert for Glee Club!
I flew
back to South Bend in August with my Mom who was helping me move into my house
and on a free afternoon she, my brother Alex, and I went to Jared to look at a
few prospects. We worked all the way from one side of the room to the other
looking at everything they had when out of the blue Mrs. Magee called my Mom.
We had a pretty good laugh when, in the midst of the conversation she asked my
Mom what she thought Rylee and I would do in the future, not realizing we were
standing in a jewelry store. After the call and continued searching, I finally
found it. I’d predetermined to make no decisions until I had a car, but I was
pretty excited about that ring. After five weeks of agonizing, two new bike
tires, and one thrown out back later, I got the call from my uncle that he had
found a Ford Taurus with my name on it. As soon as I signed off on the car I
knew I was ready to get the ring. I picked up my friend Meredith and, after clarifying
for the very confused Jared clerk that she was not in fact the bride, I walked
out of the store with ring in box in other box in bag in hand, giddy at how
real everything suddenly seemed.
Anticipation much?
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