Well. First off, let me say that Nate and I had been dating almost 3 years, and about a year and a half of that had been long distance (he was home in Arkansas, having graduated college, and I was either in Maine on vacation, in California at college, or in Israel studying for a semester during that time). However, while I was home in the summer of '04, he was due for a long-awaited vacation--he was coming to visit my family in Maine for a week. Little did I know that he was scheduled to arrive early and had been conspiring with various members of my family about that and other things! But my sweet grandpa accidentally gave the arrival away because he didn't know it was a secret that Nate was supposed to get there on Sunday night instead of Monday. So, I knew he was there already when I got home from camping with my cousins.
Wednesday was my birthday and we had reservations for a fancy restaurant (in Maine where I lived that means an hour drive) so we got all dressed up and went out. Of course, he bought me a rose and Nana had to take lots of pictures, and it was a fun evening. Apparently Nate was "hinting" all evening, trying to get me to think he was going to propose, but I was so clueless. I honestly didn't expect a proposal until at least Christmas!
All dressed up to go out.
The evening passed quietly and we enjoyed our dinner (after getting lost and frustrated on the way there...we learned MapQuest doesn't work in Maine!) and although I didn't know it, Nana and Grandpa were looking for a ring when I dropped him off at their house on the way home.
The next day we had planned a kayak trip on the Sandy River where we would stop halfway and have lunch with my mom and dad, as the river runs right behind her workplace. We were both slow getting ready; I was frustrated and sure we wouldn't be on time for lunch when we started out. We arrived at the river, dragged our kayaks to the bank, and prepared to get in. Nate stepped into his and right away tipped the entire thing sideways, spilling into the water! Needless to say, this did nothing for my mood as I helped him, soggy and dripping, to get into it properly. I asked him why he was so clumsy and his answer was "I'm just nervous." I must have given him a funny look because he added (somewhat lamely, looking back ;o) "It's my first time kayaking." Finally both in our boats, we headed off down the river. It soon became clear to me that it was indeed his first time kayaking: my ideal day of paddling briskly along, enjoying the sunshine and the water, was not to be. We didn't know (well, I didn't) that he had about 50 extra pounds of water in his boat from the spill that was weighing him down. He just thought kayaking was harder than it looked, and I just thought he was incredibly clumsy and slow. I finally asked him why he found it so hard to keep up with me, and he replied that he thought all the water in his kayak was slowing him down (I should have known, it was floating so low!) Immediately I knew we needed to pull to shore and empty it--easier said than done. Once we finally got ashore, we had the hardest time coordinating our movements to flip the silly thing over and get the water out! Breaking down, I lost my patience and my temper, and really let Nate have it!! Needless to say, I hurt his feelings and had to apologize; I felt that my perfect day had been ruined, not even suspecting that his perfect plans had been messed up by our spat as well!
Getting back into the water, we made much better progress with two lighter kayaks, and soon reached our lunch spot. I was supposed to keep on the lookout for a large beach umbrella, supposedly marking the spot we were to land. As we drew closer, I thought I saw Joanna walking away from the umbrella and tried to call to her, but she acted like she never heard me and kept walking. Thinking that was odd, I helped secure the kayaks and climbed up the bank. Nate took my hand as I was walking by the umbrella and motioned for me to look at it. I turned and saw a beautiful little spread on a picnic blanket, complete with a picnic basket, box of chocolates, and a dozen roses! Now girls, I know most of you by now would have a clue, but I must say that I was still completely clueless as to what was going on. I just thought "how sweet, a surprise picnic!" as we settled down to eat. Neither of us really had much appetite though, so I examined my lovely flowers--four white (for purity), four yellow (for friendship) and four deep red (for love) and we nibbled on the grapes and bagels. Wanting a drink, I reached into the picnic basket for a cup, and noticed as I did a little box hiding in one of the other cups. I actually didn't think that much of seeing that little box, but Nate saw that I had seen it, and thinking that the surprise was up, pulled it out. He began to open it, with his eyes on me, and I was thinking "what in the world???....no, that can't be. He just bought me a gift and is trying to make me think...." He opened the box and I saw my lovely engagement ring, sparking in the sun. Neither of us had said a word up to this point, so he broke the silence by asking "Will you marry me?" Clueless to the end, I stared at him for like 30 seconds (ask him, and it was three minutes) and then asked "Is this for real?"
...I finally got around to saying yes. But I felt like it must have been a dream or something all that day.
The next day we had planned a kayak trip on the Sandy River where we would stop halfway and have lunch with my mom and dad, as the river runs right behind her workplace. We were both slow getting ready; I was frustrated and sure we wouldn't be on time for lunch when we started out. We arrived at the river, dragged our kayaks to the bank, and prepared to get in. Nate stepped into his and right away tipped the entire thing sideways, spilling into the water! Needless to say, this did nothing for my mood as I helped him, soggy and dripping, to get into it properly. I asked him why he was so clumsy and his answer was "I'm just nervous." I must have given him a funny look because he added (somewhat lamely, looking back ;o) "It's my first time kayaking." Finally both in our boats, we headed off down the river. It soon became clear to me that it was indeed his first time kayaking: my ideal day of paddling briskly along, enjoying the sunshine and the water, was not to be. We didn't know (well, I didn't) that he had about 50 extra pounds of water in his boat from the spill that was weighing him down. He just thought kayaking was harder than it looked, and I just thought he was incredibly clumsy and slow. I finally asked him why he found it so hard to keep up with me, and he replied that he thought all the water in his kayak was slowing him down (I should have known, it was floating so low!) Immediately I knew we needed to pull to shore and empty it--easier said than done. Once we finally got ashore, we had the hardest time coordinating our movements to flip the silly thing over and get the water out! Breaking down, I lost my patience and my temper, and really let Nate have it!! Needless to say, I hurt his feelings and had to apologize; I felt that my perfect day had been ruined, not even suspecting that his perfect plans had been messed up by our spat as well!
Getting back into the water, we made much better progress with two lighter kayaks, and soon reached our lunch spot. I was supposed to keep on the lookout for a large beach umbrella, supposedly marking the spot we were to land. As we drew closer, I thought I saw Joanna walking away from the umbrella and tried to call to her, but she acted like she never heard me and kept walking. Thinking that was odd, I helped secure the kayaks and climbed up the bank. Nate took my hand as I was walking by the umbrella and motioned for me to look at it. I turned and saw a beautiful little spread on a picnic blanket, complete with a picnic basket, box of chocolates, and a dozen roses! Now girls, I know most of you by now would have a clue, but I must say that I was still completely clueless as to what was going on. I just thought "how sweet, a surprise picnic!" as we settled down to eat. Neither of us really had much appetite though, so I examined my lovely flowers--four white (for purity), four yellow (for friendship) and four deep red (for love) and we nibbled on the grapes and bagels. Wanting a drink, I reached into the picnic basket for a cup, and noticed as I did a little box hiding in one of the other cups. I actually didn't think that much of seeing that little box, but Nate saw that I had seen it, and thinking that the surprise was up, pulled it out. He began to open it, with his eyes on me, and I was thinking "what in the world???....no, that can't be. He just bought me a gift and is trying to make me think...." He opened the box and I saw my lovely engagement ring, sparking in the sun. Neither of us had said a word up to this point, so he broke the silence by asking "Will you marry me?" Clueless to the end, I stared at him for like 30 seconds (ask him, and it was three minutes) and then asked "Is this for real?"
...I finally got around to saying yes. But I felt like it must have been a dream or something all that day.
