If you haven't read the first 4 posts, please do so now. :)
1. He Should Have Known
2. Thunderlips
3. Chaperones in White Jackets
4. Isn't He Romantic
All caught up? Well, then get grap some Valentine's chocolate and get comfortable.
As you've read, the first date was a rather eventful one. On Sunday the church was all abuzz and had us married in their minds already. Even Travis' co-worker told him on Monday, "Travis, you HAVE to marry her! That's a great story to tell your grandkids!"
Fast forward 3 months and we are beginning to agree. I know, I know. 3 months is not a very long time to get to know someone and be thinking about marriage. But in all fairness, we'd known each other for over two years already. It was beginning to look as if this might get serious, but neither of us had vocalized that yet. We weren't anywhere near talking about marriage, but we both knew deep down that that's exactly where this relationship was headed.
I think I'd known that since I was 15.
My birthday was near. It had become a tradition in my family to go to Apple Hill for my birthday. I loved it there, especially sampling the just-made apple juice! It was also where I caught my first fish and I wanted to share this with Travis. So, the Saturday nearest my birthday we made plans to drive to Apple Hill together, just the two of us, and have a picnic lunch.
I was the navigator.
I'm as good with navigation as I am with gas pumps! I told him, "Just get on 80 and keep going until you see the signs." So, he did.
We wound up in Tahoe... 2 hours away from our destination!
"Oh," I said. "I guess it's 50."
We decided to make the best of it and see Tahoe before heading to Apple Hill.
Now, I must let you in on what Travis was up to. A few days before, Travis kept asking me if I wanted my birthday present early. I wanted it on our special date, so I declined the offer. He asked several times, each time I said no. The day of our date, he started it with, "Are you SURE you don't want to open your present early?" Why was he so excited about this present?
He was asking nervous all day. In Tahoe, we took a walk at a beautiful place and I mentioned that it would be a pretty place for a wedding. Travis paused for a moment and said,
"Would you want to have a wedding here?"
"Would you want a big wedding or a small one?"
"Outside or in a church?"
He was merely talking hypothetically, but one would have to wonder if perhaps he's putting out feelers. Hmmm...is he having the same gut feeling? Does he see spending the rest of his life with me?
Not going to entertain that thought. Not now, anyway.
We went back to the car and drove back the way we came until we could turn toward 50. By the time we arrived at Apple Hill, it was dark and everything was closed down. We'd planned on having a picnic lunch, but we decided to save it for dinner. And now it was dinner time.
We searched and searched in the dark for a place to have our picnic, but to no avail. We finally decided to eat in the middle of an apple orchard.
It sounded romantic.
Until a bird rustled in the trees and tricked me into thinking there was a mad man with a chainsaw about to attack us!
As we finished, Travis asked, "Are you ready for your present now?"
Yes, I was. So he went to his car to get it, acting nervous. What was the big deal with this present?
He came back, handed me the gift bag, and I proceeded to reach into the bag for the gift.
It was small.
It was a box.
It was velvety.
Travis took it from me and got down on one knee.
Oh, my gosh. Can it be...?
"Rachael, I know we haven't been dating very long, but I do know that I am sure of my feelings for you. Blah, blah, blah, blah, blah..."
All I caught was the first line. I was now outside my body, looking into his eyes, asking myself if this was real. He was NOT going to propose!!! He can't! I'm not ready. Three months... I'm pretty sure I want to marry this guy, but I'm not ready to say it and I'm certainly not ready to promise it! I can't say yes, but if I say no will I lose him? Will I totally crush him? What am I going to say? Oh, man. I can't believe this is happening. I...I...I...
"Rachael, will you...."
He opened the box.
"...accept these diamond earrings?"
diamond..diamond...wait. Diamond EARRINGS??
I looked down and, sure enough, there was small pair of diamond earrings.
I cannot express in words the relief I felt! At this point, I should have called him a name and asked him what the heck he was thinking, but I'm not that quick on my feet. Plus, like I told you before, he was a practical joker. Everyone came to expect the unexpected with Travis.
I slowly travelled back inside my body and put the earrings on. I don't have a clue what happened the rest of the night. But on Monday when I showed the guys in Chemistry class what Travis had given me for my birthday, they all agreed that he was planning on marrying me.
And they were right.
Travis' Defense...
Showing posts with label engaged. Show all posts
Showing posts with label engaged. Show all posts
Tuesday, February 9, 2010
Thursday, February 4, 2010
Thunderlips
That's the engraving on the garter I wore on my wedding day.
Scratch that - the garter my husband kept that looked just like the garter I wore on my wedding day.
I'm not the one who gave Travis that name. A friend of ours did and it had something to do with another girl, but after our first date I claimed it for my own.
This same friend told Travis the Monday after our first date, "Travis, you have to marry her! This will be a great story to tell your grandkids!"
I was 17 and had just graduated from high school. There was this boy- scratch that - GUY at church. He was 23 so in my mind, that didn't qualify him as a "boy", me being 17 and all. I'd had my eye on him since I was 15...sort of. I mean, when I was 15 he was 21 and it wasn't like I thought I would ever really go out with him. He was like...a grown-up! And I can't say that I sat dreamy-eyed in my room, scribbling his name on all my binders, but every time he talked to me I blushed. Every time he invited me to join the church youth group on an outing and offered to drive me, I got all flittery inside. And whenever he let me ride in the front seat, I couldn't do anything except stare out the window and hope that I didn't look or say anything stupid. And when he tried to strike up a conversation with me, everything I said came out silly or snobby as I tried to look like I was cool, calm, and had composure. What was it about this guy?
He was also the standard I measured every other guy by. Is he friendly like him? Is he considerate like him? Is he as faithful to God and to church as Travis is? I totally liked that in a guy.
And those questions were safe to ask. I was 15. He was 21. And as if that weren't enough to settle the question of whether or not he'd ever be interested in me or vice versa, he was engaged.
Totally safe.
So again, here I am 17 and fresh out of high school and here is this guy, now aged 23, now no longer engaged...and talking to me...wow! Wait-actually flirting with me...well, I think. I mean, he is a friendly guy.
And when he said to me one summer evening, leaning over talking to me through the window of my car, "Would you like to do something sometime, like dinner or something?" I figured he was just wanting to hang out...as friends. Like, maybe now that I graduated high school I was cool enough to hang out with this guy and not just with all the other teenagers around.
My mother was wiser.
"But Mom, he hangs out with Davia and Tiffany all the time! That's just how he is!"
Nonetheless, Mom thought I should be prepared and go ahead and dress nice....but go ahead and take some money to pay for my dinner, just in case he really was just being friendly.
The night came. July 24. (I TOLD you I was fresh out of high school!) He picked me up at my mother's house, which is where I was still living, being 17 and all, and let my mother know that we were going to Chevy's on the river. I'd never been to the place, but anything on the river is kind of romantic.
The car ride was...quiet. I was so shy and so nervous. He did his very best to make conversation and I tried my best, too, but I know it had to be hard for him. I warmed up a bit over dinner, but still I was so incredibly shy and incredibly worried that I would wind up with my dinner sticking out of my face or some of it spilling onto my white shirt, or that I would gleek on him or something. I do not miss my shy days!
Dinner went well and we headed off to play a game of miniature golf. On our way, we passed by the street that my elementary school was on. I hadn't been there in such a long time and rarely did I ever drive past it because it was not near my home.
I mentioned to Travis that my elementary school was down that road and he said, "You wanna go see it?" To which I replied, "Sure!"
Travis got out of the straight lane and into the turn lane. We turned left and quickly found ourselves in the school parking lot. I showed him where my 1st grade class was and where the Special Ed. building was that I helped in when I was there. We talked about the playground and I mentioned how there was this tree we planted and I wondered how big it must be by now.
"You wanna go see it?" To which I replied, "Sure!"
So we parked, got out of the car, and walked to the tree. There it was. It was much bigger than when my class and I planted it. So big in fact that Travis and I could stand under it.
I must back up at this point and tell you about the conversation we had on our way to the school.
Travis asked if I thought a couple should kiss on a first date. Me, being absolutely as naive as they come, began to debate with him without getting a clue of where he was going with this. I told him no, that I didn't think a couple should kiss on their first date. That it was a special, intimate thing and one should get to know the other a bit more before heading in that direction. Shoot! What if you didn't even care for the guy or girl but they were expecting a kiss at the end of the night?
Travis, being the logical thinker he is and, well...being a guy, naturally took the position that it was just fine for a couple to kiss on the first date. After all, it was just a kiss. He said some other things that I couldn't argue against. It's pretty much always been that way. He states logical conclusions and I am defenseless to defend my position. The systematic thinker meets the intuitive one. How opposites do attract!
In the end, I conceded that it was ok for a couple to do a "peck", but no open-mouthed kissing, although I still didn't think it was the best thing.
So here we are under the tree. It's dark by now. This time I have more to say than he does, talking about my childhood teachers and friends and reminiscing. I'm guessing he had no idea what I was saying because once I was finally quiet, he looked into my eyes, put his arms around me, and kissed me.
A peck.
Ok. Now I'm back to nervous!
We walked back to his car and my heart must have been going a million beats per second, or something close to that at least. We stopped by the car door and just stood there talking. Eventually he slipped his hands around my waist and my freak-out factor hit the roof!
He was talking about something when suddenly his voice started sounding further and further away. Then there was this tingling sound in my ears and everything was going fuzzy. And then...
I passed out. Right there in his arms. Out cold.
More later...
Looking Through Travis' Eyes
Scratch that - the garter my husband kept that looked just like the garter I wore on my wedding day.
I'm not the one who gave Travis that name. A friend of ours did and it had something to do with another girl, but after our first date I claimed it for my own.
This same friend told Travis the Monday after our first date, "Travis, you have to marry her! This will be a great story to tell your grandkids!"
I was 17 and had just graduated from high school. There was this boy- scratch that - GUY at church. He was 23 so in my mind, that didn't qualify him as a "boy", me being 17 and all. I'd had my eye on him since I was 15...sort of. I mean, when I was 15 he was 21 and it wasn't like I thought I would ever really go out with him. He was like...a grown-up! And I can't say that I sat dreamy-eyed in my room, scribbling his name on all my binders, but every time he talked to me I blushed. Every time he invited me to join the church youth group on an outing and offered to drive me, I got all flittery inside. And whenever he let me ride in the front seat, I couldn't do anything except stare out the window and hope that I didn't look or say anything stupid. And when he tried to strike up a conversation with me, everything I said came out silly or snobby as I tried to look like I was cool, calm, and had composure. What was it about this guy?
He was also the standard I measured every other guy by. Is he friendly like him? Is he considerate like him? Is he as faithful to God and to church as Travis is? I totally liked that in a guy.
And those questions were safe to ask. I was 15. He was 21. And as if that weren't enough to settle the question of whether or not he'd ever be interested in me or vice versa, he was engaged.
Totally safe.
So again, here I am 17 and fresh out of high school and here is this guy, now aged 23, now no longer engaged...and talking to me...wow! Wait-actually flirting with me...well, I think. I mean, he is a friendly guy.
And when he said to me one summer evening, leaning over talking to me through the window of my car, "Would you like to do something sometime, like dinner or something?" I figured he was just wanting to hang out...as friends. Like, maybe now that I graduated high school I was cool enough to hang out with this guy and not just with all the other teenagers around.
My mother was wiser.
"But Mom, he hangs out with Davia and Tiffany all the time! That's just how he is!"
Nonetheless, Mom thought I should be prepared and go ahead and dress nice....but go ahead and take some money to pay for my dinner, just in case he really was just being friendly.
The night came. July 24. (I TOLD you I was fresh out of high school!) He picked me up at my mother's house, which is where I was still living, being 17 and all, and let my mother know that we were going to Chevy's on the river. I'd never been to the place, but anything on the river is kind of romantic.
The car ride was...quiet. I was so shy and so nervous. He did his very best to make conversation and I tried my best, too, but I know it had to be hard for him. I warmed up a bit over dinner, but still I was so incredibly shy and incredibly worried that I would wind up with my dinner sticking out of my face or some of it spilling onto my white shirt, or that I would gleek on him or something. I do not miss my shy days!
Dinner went well and we headed off to play a game of miniature golf. On our way, we passed by the street that my elementary school was on. I hadn't been there in such a long time and rarely did I ever drive past it because it was not near my home.
I mentioned to Travis that my elementary school was down that road and he said, "You wanna go see it?" To which I replied, "Sure!"
Travis got out of the straight lane and into the turn lane. We turned left and quickly found ourselves in the school parking lot. I showed him where my 1st grade class was and where the Special Ed. building was that I helped in when I was there. We talked about the playground and I mentioned how there was this tree we planted and I wondered how big it must be by now.
"You wanna go see it?" To which I replied, "Sure!"
So we parked, got out of the car, and walked to the tree. There it was. It was much bigger than when my class and I planted it. So big in fact that Travis and I could stand under it.
I must back up at this point and tell you about the conversation we had on our way to the school.
Travis asked if I thought a couple should kiss on a first date. Me, being absolutely as naive as they come, began to debate with him without getting a clue of where he was going with this. I told him no, that I didn't think a couple should kiss on their first date. That it was a special, intimate thing and one should get to know the other a bit more before heading in that direction. Shoot! What if you didn't even care for the guy or girl but they were expecting a kiss at the end of the night?
Travis, being the logical thinker he is and, well...being a guy, naturally took the position that it was just fine for a couple to kiss on the first date. After all, it was just a kiss. He said some other things that I couldn't argue against. It's pretty much always been that way. He states logical conclusions and I am defenseless to defend my position. The systematic thinker meets the intuitive one. How opposites do attract!
In the end, I conceded that it was ok for a couple to do a "peck", but no open-mouthed kissing, although I still didn't think it was the best thing.
So here we are under the tree. It's dark by now. This time I have more to say than he does, talking about my childhood teachers and friends and reminiscing. I'm guessing he had no idea what I was saying because once I was finally quiet, he looked into my eyes, put his arms around me, and kissed me.
A peck.
Ok. Now I'm back to nervous!
We walked back to his car and my heart must have been going a million beats per second, or something close to that at least. We stopped by the car door and just stood there talking. Eventually he slipped his hands around my waist and my freak-out factor hit the roof!
He was talking about something when suddenly his voice started sounding further and further away. Then there was this tingling sound in my ears and everything was going fuzzy. And then...
I passed out. Right there in his arms. Out cold.
More later...
Looking Through Travis' Eyes
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