Our Love Story--- Part 4

This is why I rarely do series of posts...I am terrible at following through. Anyway, click here for Part 1, Part 2, and Part 3.

Excerpt from my journal...

This was Patrick and my first Valentine's Day together. He planned a date for us on the 15th, but the 14th was nice as well. I came home from work to find a vase of the most beautiful red roses imaginable. This was the first DOZEN roses I ever received. My roommate had a few friends over for dinner, so Patrick and I decided to have a pizza picnic in my room. We spread out a blanket and sat on pillows. We ate by candlelight and even shared a dance...before Patrick had to study again.

I was VERY excited about our date on February 15th. I LOVE surprises!!! While we were driving, Patrick asked me if I was hungry. I didn't know if this meant we were about to eat a huge meal or if it meant it would be a while before dinner...he didn't give me any other clues. We were walking towards the restaurant (I thought) when he said, "We are going to do a little shopping before dinner." At that moment, we were ringing the doorbell of a jewelry store in downtown Baltimore. My knees were shaking. I was in complete shock. He met with the jeweler a few weeks prior and had done a lot of research. I was SO impressed! I tried on a lot of different rings. I told him what I liked and what I didn't like. I felt like a princess.

Lynn's interjection for clarity...

Patrick and I had a conversation about ring shopping before we were ever dating...before marriage was even on the table in any way. I think one of my friends was going ring shopping, and we talked about the general idea. I said I thought it would be fun and that my friends who had gone said they felt like "princesses." Patrick said he planned to buy a ring and completely surprise his future bride. Based on that conversation, I never thought we would go ring shopping. Patrick decided that if he couldn't completely surprise me with a proposal, he would surprise me with ring shopping. I loved it.

After shopping, we went to dinner, and for the first time we were really free to talk about the probability of us getting married. We were careful while dating to not make comments like, "when we get married... or when we have kids..." Being able to talk about the future together felt like a dream.

The next week, we went to visit a few more stores in my hometown. I had no idea what ring he would buy, where he would buy it, or when he would propose. There is more to this love story, but it will have to be continued...