Sunday, January 22, 2012

Engagements All Around!

Engagement stories are important. Girls compare stories over tea years after the event actually took place. Well, I have a pretty good story to share. I hope you enjoy it as much as I did…ok, I know you probably won’t enjoy it as much as I did…but hopefully you can enjoy it all the same!

On the Saturday before Andrew was set to deploy, he called around 9:00am and grunted that he would arrive at my house around 11:00 so we could begin an "action adventure." When I got into the car he handed me an envelope with a #1 on it. I opened it and read,

“Oh! Oh! I’m hungry! Let’s get something to eat! We’ll need to drive a car to save our poor feet! What could be a place to solve this problem in our head? How about a factory that makes delicious white flat bread?”

Well, the Tortilla Factory was my guess. This restaurant is the Japanese version of Chipotle and is quite tasty. I was right and we got to enjoy yummy Japanese-style-Mexican burritos. After lunch I got envelope #2, which said,

“Do you feel satisfied? I do, almost without a doubt. But I feel that something’s missing, something that we’re without. What will solve this problem that is decidedly crummy? How about a party that offers something cool, tasty, and yummy?”

Partyland Yogurt was the first thing I thought of. It is a build your own frozen yogurt cup joint and is quite yummy. We enjoyed some tasty yogurt in a cup. After yogurt I was handed envelope #3:

“Ah! Delicious yogurt! There’s nothing like it in the world! Especially when there’s two wonderful flavors in a swirl! Where shall be our next stop? What location shall we grace? shouldn’t we drive to your favorite rocky-sandy-type place?"

I confess I struggled with this clue. We often go sit on the beach, but I wasn’t sure which beach was the special beach. After some additional clues I knew it was Toguchi Beach. This beach is known for its huge rocks making arches above private beaches. When we got there, much of the beach was fenced off. I guess the Japanese government decided to resurface the paths around
the beach on this particular Saturday. It didn’t deter Andrew any and he hopped over the fence. Me, being a complete rule-keeper, just about had a fit. He insisted I come with him. So, we snuck around the cement trucks and the heavy equipment and Japanese construction workers. I was trying not to make eye contact. We got to our favorite place under an arch of rocks and gazed at the ocean for a minute before he handed me envelope #4:

“You picked the right spot! One out of many! It’s frugal! We did not spend a penny! Only one more stop after this one whoopee! But wait! Turn around Quickly!....because there’s a Man on one knee!!!”

I turned around and there he was on one knee telling me sweet things and asking me to join him on life’s journey. Then it was silent…oh yeah, a question usually needs an answer. Of course I said YES! The last location for our special day was to the jewelry store where we had picked out a wedding set awhile back. We spent the next hour sipping tea and making a large purchase! What a very special day. I look forward to our future together and I know that life with the two of us and the Lord, will be full of wild adventure!