The day before I got engaged, I didn't shower at all. Which posed a problem because I have class at 9:00 am on Friday mornings and I was not about to get up early to shower even if I hadn't bathed for the previous 48 hours. So instead, I took half a shower (read: didn't wash my hair) and headed off to class at 8:45 on Friday, January 24.
When I got home from school around 11:00, I was greeted by frantic texts from Colby that said, "Make sure you're in St. George right at 4:30. Gab and Bri want to go hiking in Snow Canyon and then go to Benja for dinner." Man, Gab and Bri sure were on a tight schedule.
I worked out, took a real shower, packed, and messed around on Facebook for a while or something (this part of the day is all a blur really). I was starving but I waited to eat since we were apparently going hiking and you know how mad I can become if I'm in nature with no food. Around 2:45 I went to the kitchen and heated up some ratatouille that Colby had brought me the weekend before (reason number 241 to marry a chef) and talked to my roommate Marissa until I realized I had no idea what time it was and oh no I need to go and what if I'm late for this hiking trip which seems to be extremely important. So I threw all my stuff in the car and headed to St. George.
At this point I was pretty sure I knew what was going to happen so all the way to St. George I was freaking out. One minute I was super happy, the next I was a nervous wreck. It was like a mini Utah weather forecast in that Honda. "The high for today is 74 degrees and it's currently sunny, with a very strong chance you will be snowed into your home by this afternoon." You get the point. On the way there I got a text from Colby saying "I'm leaving work!" and another one two minutes later that said "Tell me when you're here and I will help you bring your stuff in!" Since he has a thirty minute drive home from work and had apparently just made it home in two minutes this whole thing was seeming a little weird, but who am I to judge. Maybe my concept of time was way off due to the hurricane going on inside my heart.
Anyway, I got to Colby's house and texted him "I'm here!" but after waiting patiently for around 20 seconds he was nowhere to be seen so I grabbed my stuff and proceeded to the front door, where he ushered me in. Gab and Bri arrived out of nowhere and we were off to Snow Canyon.
We went to the petrified sand dunes and chose one with a simple walk to the top to behold gorgeous, almost extra-terrestrial views of the canyon. It was a little cloudy and windy but we took some pictures and started heading down.
Then Colby was like "Let's go climb that one," gesturing to an even bigger sand dune that was going to lead to the exact same view but we all humored him and started climbing. This time, instead of a nice stroll to the top, our adventures included scaling a wall and hiking up an incredibly steep incline that left us all with burning calves and out of breath. Like I said, I had already worked out that day so I was pretty much done at this point. Then Colby: "Let's go up there." "There" being a slightly higher point across a little ravine. "No, no, I'm okay." - me. "Please? Come on?" - Colby. "Fine." - me (bitterly).
Gab and Bri hung back while Colby and I jumped over the ravine and hopped up to a little platform above where we just were. Well, I hopped up to the little platform while Colby got down on one knee. I was taken completely off guard, my hands flew to my face, and before he said anything I blurted out, "Wait, what?!" Colby started laughing and stood up. "Yeah, I'm just kidding," he told me. I'm just kidding. "What?" I demanded. Colby: "Yeah, I'm not going to do that right now." He could not stop laughing. This is when I became angry slash thought it was hilarious but didn't want him to know that. "You are the absolute worst!"
I believe the above picture features me trying to shove Colby off a cliff. Clearly I'm winning.
I managed to hold a grudge for at least half the walk to the car which is probably a record for me. When we got back to the house, Gab and Bri left to get ready for Benja and I reluctantly took my third shower of the day. Colby was being very mysterious until he showed up with a blindfold and told me to close my eyes. "I'm just going to take you across town. Is that okay?" he whispered in my ear while tying the blindfold. I nodded and he began to lead me out of the room.
As I walked, I began to realize that we weren't going across town and I thought he might be taking me to the backyard. This became evident when I tripped over the metal strip that separates the house from the back patio and almost face-planted. "This isn't across town," I mumbled. "I know," Colby said softly as he took off the blindfold.
And then all of a sudden, there I was. I was standing on a pathway lined with candles, twinkling Christmas lights were strung above my head, lanterns were glowing from tree branches, and the man of my dreams was kneeling in front of me with the biggest smile on his face. It was all so surreal as he pulled the ring out of his pocket and said, "Shannon, you're the best thing that has ever happened to me. I love you. I love you so much. Will you marry me?" I was so incredibly happy when I quietly said "yes" and he slid the ring on my finger. Everything was perfect as he led me to the candlelit table in the center of it all and served me the dinner that he made while I was in the shower. All my senses were full to bursting and I wanted to take it all in but all I could focus on was Colby, who couldn't stop smiling and I couldn't either and wow, I was engaged. We're engaged!
Afterward, I was pretty confused about whether Bri and Gab were at Benja or not, but they ended up coming over and taking pictures and Colby fed them too, don't worry. (Side note: amidst the whole proposal being very intimate and romantic, I'm pretty sure that when I took the first bite of the pasta Colby made I said something like "Wow, this is the best part of the night!" Classic.) I called my mom and she said "Well it's about time!" but of course she was really happy.
Finally, Colby and I got to hang out alone and we ended up watching Dan in Real Life and talking about how awesome it is that we're engaged. I told him that I imagined our proposal story to involve a helicopter. Granted, that would have been pretty cool, but I wouldn't change anything about the way January 24 went. And, since you're reading this post of your own free will, you can't even get mad at me for saying the most cliché thing there is: I can't wait to marry my best friend!
No comments:
Post a Comment