The Reversed Proposal

October 24, 2001

Pedro proposes. I say yes. Before he's even done asking. Oops.
The story is great. As for the basics, let me just say that it involved 2 tins of Altoids and 1 empty ring box.

April 27, 2002

Shivers and tingles, can barely breathe kind of day. A day for celebrating and beginning something new. Feels like the world has stopped and nothing else matters except for the here and now.


And then something weird happens. Time just keeps on going. We had a fun summer just working and being together/adjusting to each other. We go back to school, earn degrees, have a baby. Move across the country, get a new job, have 2 more babies. And time just keeps on going. Kids get bigger. They start going to school. We get a mortgage and a 401k and stock options. Responsibilities increase and those days of being care-free seem to slip farther and farther away. And then something clicks: we're growing up.

April 27, 2011

Wake up to a little girl tapping me on the shoulder telling me I'm late. I forgot to set the alarm again. Oops. Come out to find that no magic fairies came and cleaned my house in the middle of the night. I light a candle to mask the smell of last night's dinner until I can get around to cleaning. I give Annaleise breakfast and make her a lunch. I drive her to school and get her to class only 10 minutes late.

I come home and notice the beautiful bouquet of lilies. Aw, sweetness! After getting Pedro off to work and the kids to a friends house for a play date I set to work. You see, Pedro lost his wedding ring a while back. I bought him a new one. And I couldn't just hand it to him. So I decided on a special way involving...2 Altoid tins and an empty ring box.

You betcha! I was going to propose to him in a similar fashion as he did to me 9 1/2 years ago. I emptied one Altoid tin, placed the ring in it, and put the shrink wrap back on. I put a card in the ring box that said "Ha ha, gotcha!" I grabbed the 3 boxes, put them in my purse and headed to his office to pick him up for lunch.

We ended up at Table Mesa on the square. It was crowded and very loud and we had to shout to communicate. Not the best place for my plan to unfold.

After a brisk walk in the rain back to the car (it was raining the day we were married--oh, the sentimental part of me shines through today) I decided it was now or never. He was already late for his class.

I need to mention here that I was incredibly nervous. Heck, I've been married to the man for 9 years, why in the world was I nervous? Can't imagine how he must have felt the first time around.

Anyways, I handed him the ring box. His eyebrows shot up. He opened the box and laughed. I handed him the next box. An Altoids tin. He looked at me funny and said "gee, this seems kinda familiar." He opened it to find...Altoids! Well, you've gotta have good breath for the 'after the proposal kiss.' I decided it wasn't the right time to give him the 3rd box, so I just started the car and drove him back to work. We talked the way back, remembering his proposal and him wondering what in the world I was doing with an empty jewelry box.

I pulled into the parking lot, grabbed his hand and said, "you know, there were 2 Altoid tins that night." And I gave him the last box. He turned it over and saw my attempt at putting the shrink wrap back on. A big old smile and he opened up the tin to find his new ring.