Mike completely surprised me when he officially asked me to marry him. I’d been suspecting he might ask me, but chalked it up to me being a girl when nothing happened at dinner. I can honestly say I was surprised when he asked, which is good, because despite the many times I thought he was going to do it, I was disappointed in myself for even thinking it because it would ruin the big surprise.
(In case you’re a guy and you’re wondering: Yes, we women are very complex, slightly crazy creatures. Someone should pay us for being this weird; it’s a lot of work.)
After he asked me, he told me that he had a ring, which threw me completely off guard because I thought he asked because we always ask each other. We’ve talked about it a thousand times. We’ve even talked about our wedding party and who would be what in the wedding. He always said one day he would officially ask me. He said that he didn’t have the ring on him, though, and that Britt had it because it was their grandmother Nanny’s.
When it comes to our families, Mike and I are almost the same person. We love our families fiercely, especially our grandparents. My relationship with Noni and Popi and how I feel about them is pretty much the same as Mike’s relationship with his Nanny and Poppy. I never got to meet them, but I know all about them.
So when he told me that the ring he was giving me had been Nanny’s, was passed down to Britt, and that Britt wanted to give it to me because she loves me, I teared up. I always thought I was the type of girl who wouldn’t cry when the Big Question was asked, but I did, so here we are.
“Text Britt and see if she’s home!” he said excitedly as he drove. “Actually, call her!”
She answered right away. “Hey, are you home?” I asked.
“Yeah,” she said. “What’s up?”
“Put her on speaker!” Mike almost sang out.
I told Britt to hold on and put her on speaker.
“Hey,” he said. “Would you mind if we stopped by?”
“Sure,” she said. “Is everything okay?”
“Yeah, I just gotta pick up a ring.” I could hear the smile in his voice, and I knew she could, too.
“Oh!” she said. “Yeah, come over!”
It's so delicate, so gorgeous.
When we got to her house, she was elated. “I always knew you’d be my sister!” she said. She handed the ring to Mike and he started to put it on my finger. Nanny’s fingers were really small, though, so I couldn’t get it on past the second joint of my finger. Britt came to the rescue, though, and told us that her boyfriend Tyson has a friend who can size it for us. Leave it to my future sister-in-law to have everything in order! She really is a lifesaver. For the time being, we put it on my chain where I was wearing my promise ring (since the skin underneath that ring was getting all irritated from having water trapped under the ring).
Before we left, she said, “I’m so excited! Now we can start planning the wedding!” It didn’t hit me until hours later that…
- Holy shit, I have to plan a wedding!
- Holy shit, I get to plan a wedding!
(Remember guys, we women are weird like that.)
I’m ecstatic. Last night, while watching Grey’s Anatomy on Netflix, I tried out my future name: “Mrs. Michael Campbell,” “Elizabeth Kaylene Campbell,” “Mrs. Campbell,” “Elizabeth Campbell,” “Liz Campbell,” and “Mike and Liz Campbell.” It makes me giggle like a three-year-old every time, because it sounds so good.
And, even though I put the ring away until it gets sized so that nothing happens to it, today I’m wearing it on my pinky because I can’t not wear it. Strangely enough, I feel naked without it.
Wearing it on my pinky today.
We don’t have a date set yet because we’re broke, but as soon as we decide on what we want — we already have an idea, but it’s not final — we’ll probably be able to set a date based on how long it’ll take for us to save up. We’re in no rush, but oh man, I can’t wait.
Liz Campbell. Heehee.
PS: I have a lightbox plugin, so if you click on the pictures in this post, you can see them full size and really see how beautiful this ring is. I’m honored that it’s been passed to me. It means so much.
It’s also a full-time position, with vacation and a couple of other good benefits.