"Someday somebody's gonna ask you..."

"A question you outta say yes to, just once in your life. Baby tonight, I've got a question for you." By the Old 97's, if you haven't heard it- go listen. I like it, and now it's stuck in my head. Oh well. 

But the topic for today- the proposal. I realized that I started right in on the wedding planning without telling you about how we get to do all this lovely stuff in the first place.

So- a little background:

Matt and I started dating freshmen year after we met cleaning Reed Arena (AKA A&M's basketball arena) for a dorm fundraiser. Romantic, I know. He claims that we met during the first week we moved in way in first semester, but since my infallible memory cannot recall that, clearly it didn't happen! (Ha!) Anyway, so our first date was in February of 2008, and we've been together ever since. 

Since we both lived on campus, we would make it a routine to take walks together and just chat, get to know each other. Plus it was an awesome study break. It was a tradition of ours that on the last day of the semester, once all of our finals were over, we would take a longer walk than normal and just sit at all our various benches on campus. 'Our' place is this spot:

Source

Though not shown, there are a couple of benches over to the right of the statue that are nice and overall the area has a good view of the grassy knoll on campus.

Background's done. Since Matt and I had been dating for so long, we had previously talked about getting married and all that. We knew we would have to wait to graduate college and everything, and I asked to have the summer before senior year to plan the wedding so I wouldn't have to worry about it during senior year. Thus, I knew the proposal would be at some point during junior year, most likely during the second semester. I had always felt it would be the last night just because that area we always go to is 'us', and we wouldn't have school to worry about, etc. 

So as the semester progresses, there had still not been a proposal. And then, a couple of days before our last finals I started to get sick. Just a cold, but not fun when I was dealing with finals, packing for a trip to Europe with my brother two days after finals were over, and plus, who wants to be sick when they have epic last-night plans?? So, we both take our last final and then we know we will not be able to do a long last walk, and I get all depressed because I'm ruining the engagement plans.

First, we watched "The Sound of Music," because we're that kind of exciting couple. No, as a part of my European adventure, we were going to Salzburg, Austria (AKA where they filmed a lot of the movie) and I wanted to see it before I went. So, we watched it, and after chilling there, I felt a lot better, though not 100%. Then instead of going to a nicer restaurant per tradition, we went to Blue Baker because I really wanted soup. Following dinner, I see him looking at his phone...

-OK- more background. I told Mary, my amazing friend who is going to be the MOH, that I suspected that this specific night was going to be THE night. So she asked me if I didn't mind if she contacted Matt to help somehow with the engagement. I, of course, said no, so she got in touch with him, and boom*bada*bing, that was done. Now back to the story...

We drive to campus in an awkward silence because we BOTH know what's going to happen. Once we get there, he looks at his phone again, texts, and we take a meandering stroll through campus, indirectly leading to our area. But, we were thwarted as another couple was there! How dare they?!? Didn't they know that was OUR spot and we needed it? The nerve! Anyway, so once they leave, we go sit down, and again, awkward silence. So I ask Matt what he's thinking, and he says, "Well, I might as well tell you."

That's when he gets up, gets down on one knee, says all sorts of sweet things, and pulls the ring out of his pocket, and proposes. 

Obviously, I said yes (I think, Mary said she think I said, "Really?" though Matt and I do not recall that), and after a bit, I ask if we should call our parents. Matt said that there was someone we should tell first, and I ask him if Mary was there. She comes out from behind her hiding place (she had gone to stake out the area the day before just to make sure she could find a good place! What a great friend!), and we take some posed pictures, such as these gems:

Please ignore my ugly hair. I blame being sick. So then we (Mary and I) freak out over the gorgeous ring, hug, etc. Then she leaves and we call our respective families, who of course knew, and then close friends. And then the mass text messages. 


So yeah, that was that. Expected, but sweet and totally us. And now a picture of the ring. I love it, it is just me, as my roommate Kara put it.