Where's My Ring?

8/8/10

For those of you enamored with the idea of a ring going with an engagement, with all due respect, this is the only ring you'll see me showing off surrounding this happy announcement:

Our engagement picture, which I call All Sparkly With a Funny Tail

People are asking for the details, so here they are.

Darryl's plan was that Saturday morning we ride our bikes through the scenic wine country of Newberg to the fanciest restaurant in the whole area for brunch.  I think he planned for this to take place at this location for at least a week.

The day came for us to head to the The Allison, but I came up with 101 reasons not to go, including but not limited to:
it's too far,
it's cold outside,
it's expensive,
we don't even have a reservation,
you don't even know the hours they're open,
it doesn't even say the hours they're open on their website
there is nothing I want to eat on their menu,
we can make that stuff at home,
I have a lot to do,
I need to clean the house,
we need to pick blackberries,
we need to make jam,
I lost a small piece of paper and really should be looking for it right now (not kidding)


We finally decided that a local coffee shop, The Coffee Cottage, sounded like a better option for brunch.
We ordered and I proceeded to dig into their books, promptly picking one out to peruse about friendship and women getting together in packs called  The Ultimate Guide to Starting, Running, and Enjoying Your Own Women's Group.  Darryl kept asking that I put the book down, at which point I made one last attempt to keep the book by engaging him in the content I was taking in.  This led to a discussion on how a venn diagram is properly used that further proved Darryl's point that this book should be put down.


Our brunch was served.  He got a quiche and I got french toast.  Our conversation ambled toward some some topics that aren't unusual for us at all, with Darryl asking such questions as:
Do you love me?
Will you love me when I am old?
Will you put me in a home if I am old before you?
Are you glad you moved here?
So do you think we should get married? 


Throughout these questions he told me he loved me too, he was glad that I moved here too, he didn't think I would put him in a home either etc etc.  Again, nothing unusual.  Even the 'So you think we should get married?' didn't seem out of the norm for our conversation, but when I responded 'yes, I do,' this time he said, "Let's do it," and presented me with a black box.


To my friends who cannot understand otherwise, I will spell it out:  Darryl isn't cheap ya'll!  I don't want a ring.  He knew that and doesn't feel that strongly about me having one.  So in lieu of a ring, for my engagement I will be getting a love seat couch and a bike.  He had drawings to represent them in the black box that he said he worked on at his office because I am nosy.


Here I show them off, friends, and I couldn't be more pleased, with who he is, with the fact that we've figured out that we want to be together for always, with the way he did it, and that we landed at the same old coffee shop for the occasion.  I'd much rather we spend money on a bike and a couch than a ring; and I'd much rather the idea be presented at a humble little coffee shop.

                Her feet.                                                                         His feet.