The Story: The Big Day

We've got a little announcement to make:

We've tentatively set our wedding date for December 30th!

Jesse: What, you didn't know we got engaged? Yup, she said yes on Thursday night, after clogging! I had a great little speech all memorized, and then promptly forgot it when I went to ask.

Charlessa: He SAYS he forgot the speech. When I read it later, I think there was only one sentence he forgot.

J We've probably spent more time in the clogging barn together than just about anywhere else, so it was an appropriate place to pop the big question. Just one little snag: they wouldn't stop talking!! Mary, Joyce, and Beth usually stay around for a bit after clogging before they leave us for the evening. THIS time though, they decided to talk for an extra hour! I had the ring burning a hole in my pocket, butterflies holding a party in my stomach, and I had to sit there waiting for them to stop talking!!!! Aack!

C: Before I'd left work, I'd caught Jesse's blog post saying "today is the big day." He just didn't say a big day for what. Then after clogging, he changed back into his work clothes--a bit unusual. I was suspecting, but didn't want to presume or start thinking about it too much, afraid I'd end up disappointed if it was something more mundane.

J: I had picked up the ring last Friday, so I had been carrying it around for a couple days. There were several times that I had almost pulled it out to ask the question ahead of time. The 18th was exactly 9 months since I had first asked Charlessa out. Probably the hardest time to resist was when we were watching a movie one evening and I actually had it in my pocket. (thankfully on the side away from Charlessa!) But when I actually did ask, I'm glad I waited - I got to experience the full blast of nervousness and anticipation! It was getting late and I knew I would have to ask right away or not at all that day. I was looking forward to this more than anything else, but I still almost chickened out! I think the girls have the easy part - they only have one word to say, we have the whole speech and knee and ring deal we have to take care of. Do you have any idea how hard it is to coordinate knees, mouth and hands when you're trembling like a leaf!?!

C: I had a meeting in Charlottesville (2.5 hours away) the next morning that meant I had to be on the road by 7:30 Friday AM. I had decided early in the day that I would need to leave the clogging barn earlier than usual and try to be in bed by midnight to be up the next morning. I knew that if "the day" was what I suspected, there was practically no way a midnight bedtime would happen! So when it was 11:00 before everyone else left and it was getting to be 11:30, I figured a midnight bedtime was a good way to force the topic.

J: And I appreciate it! Once I got started, it wasn't so bad, but trying to figure out how to start was a killer! Of course I had a great scenario worked out in my mind how it would seamlessly happen, but of course as I was trying to remember how I had planned to start off, I came up with a total blank. So, there I was on one knee and I hadn't the foggiest clue what I was going to say! And by this point it was obviously too late to get back up and try to shrug it off. So I said something, but I'll be darned if I can remember what it was! The important thing was that she said yes though, so whatever came out it must have been intelligible.

C: Yes, it was intelligible, intelligent, and sweet. And of course, it concluded with the important question. At that point, my ability to think coherently was pretty much gone. The only thing I could remember was that I wanted to say "yes."

J: Well, I like that! She can't think straight so she says yes! Well, thinking straight or not I'm glad that she said yes. And it's too late to take it back now - she's stuck! We finished up the evening with a couple more hours of talk and phone calls to parents before we finally took off. And then we were supposed to get some sleep after all that?! Huh. I eventually got to sleep, but still woke up a few times during the night thinking about it - I'm engaged!!!! Woot!

C:Sleep did seem like an impossibility! I think I managed to actually be in bed for 4 hours that night. Time asleep? Not that much. I did make it down to Charlottesville and managed (I think) to be coherent for the meeting, even if slightly distracted. I had a constant reminder on my finger that my life was changing, even if it hadn't completely sunk in.

So nine monthes after we started off, here we are planning the wedding. We've started the announcement going around, but figure that there will still be a few people that we'll forget, so if you're one of those who just found out, sorry!

We've had just over 40 hours, and we're starting to work out some of the details like when and where. Check back for further details!

Dating is nice. Engaged is GOOD! Can't wait for MARRIED!!

Continue: The Story: Jesse's Wrap-Up

Weekend

The weekend was....I'm not sure what adjective I want to use. It was a weekend that in some ways was rather scheduled and busy; in other ways it was relaxing. And the pleasure was I got to spend almost all of it with Jesse!

On Friday, I left work a bit earlier than usual to make it to a clogging performance for a pre-school hoedown. We only had eight cloggers there for the performance--much smaller number than ideal, but then the stage was small and we only danced a few songs, so it worked out. The stage was a challenge--a flatbed trailer on regular tires. Probably the most descriptively accurate comparison I heard--it was like dancing on a trampoline with 7 other people. After our short performance, we led the the group in some small-circle figures. I don't know for sure how many people we had dancing--well over 100. We had very good participation from the around 400 people at the party--over half of them 1st grade age or younger.

Food at the party was made available to the cloggers, so most of the group stayed for a bit--eating, watching the party, and listening to the hoedown caller lead the group in several more dances. As the party was wrapping up, Jesse and I headed back to my place to watch a movie--Sliding Doors. It was a movie that plays with the idea of "what if" and is centered around an English woman (Gwenyth Paltrow) who is living with a boyfriend that is cheating on her and whether she discovers the affair the same day she is fired from her job.

Saturday, there was a special price at King's Dominion for A/G youth groups. Jesse was trying to get our youth group to go and I was planning to go too, but with it being the weekend of the prom and other conflicts, none of the kids ended up going. When none of the kids showed up to go, we decided to skip the trip and show up for the clogging performances scheduled for the day.

The clogging was at the Loudoun Museum in Leesburg. Our group was originally scheduled for 12:30, but as a last minute change, they asked us to perform in two slots--11:30 & 12:30. Similar to Friday night, we danced just a few dances at 11:30, then invited the audience to join us and taught them a few small-circle figures. After the second performance, the museum provided some food for the cloggers. Most of the group watched the next performance--square dancers--while we ate. The square dancers also invited members of the audience to participate in part of their performance, so Jesse and I were able to do a bit of square dancing. A bit of shopping in Leesburg and then we each headed home to work on some projects around 3:30. We got back together in the evening to relax and catch another movie.

Sunday morning was breakfast service. I was a little late making it to church, but only missed the first part of the worship songs. After church, we headed down to the Green Valley Book Fair--almost 2 hours away. We browsed and shopped for 3.5 hours, each picking up a couple of bags of books. They locked the doors behind as as we headed back home at 7:00. Back at my place, we heated up some chili for supper and started reading our books. What a great way to end the weekend!

P.S. Yes, we both remembered to call home for mother's day.

Chance Encounter

Last night, after a later than normal evening at work, I stopped by the post office for my mail on the way home. While getting my mail, I saw a car arrive, but didn't think anything about it. Walking out the door, Jesse was standing there!

I was reminded again how much just seeing him and talking to him for a few minutes can change my whole day for the better!

I'm in the mood to post something here, but I'm not sure what I want to write about. I posted about my weekend (including events with Jesse) on my main blog.

I know our readers don't really care to hear about every movie/play/activity we do together. Or the hours we spend chatting--besides at said movies/plays/activities--in person or on the phone. And while I realize that I take some our time and conversations together for granted (or at least don't appreciate them as much as I ought), every hour is still time together!

I know a lot of people dread Monday as the first day of the work week--having to shift from the activities of the weekend back to the concerns of work. And I have one more reason to know it's Monday--I miss Jesse. It seems a bit odd in someways. It doesn't much matter whether we spent most of the weekend together or barely talked at church--I miss Jesse on Mondays. Ok, I miss him anytime he's not around, but Monday is worse than most days. I don't know that I want to "fix" the "problem," but I'm a bit curious if others have experienced a similar phenomenon.