 | Background: I knew Jake was "the one" within only a few months of us seeing one another. Within 6 months of dating, we spoke about our future together, marriage and even casually went ring shopping :) We both knew that we loved each other intensely, but we also knew that there were many obstacles and changes to come within the following year, mainly my deployment and all of the training that occured prior, so we were a little cautious.
After getting back from Afghanistan in the end of 2014, my first scheduled trip to see Jake in Hawaii was in February, which coincided with our annual Valentine's celebratory trip. We would have seen each other sooner, but we couldn't due to conflicts with our work schedules #armylife. We each took 2 weeks off to fully enjoy the time with one another. Anyway, Jake had booked a 4 day trip to the island of Kauai for us, at a breathtaking resort with a fun convertible mustang rental car. He had lots of activities planned for us during the stay! That first night, Jake didn't have any formal dinner plans in mind, so we looked up a romantic restaurant on the beach with good reviews to enjoy. A part of me was hoping this trip would result in a proposal, but there was sign after sign showing me that it might not, the first being the lack of dinner plans haha. We got dressed and Jake suggested that we go star gazing on the beach after dinner and he packed a bag with all of the necessities- beach towels, sweaters, etc. My thinking was "yes! maybe this was his proposal plan!" After leaving our hotel room and going into the hallway, I realized that Jake forgot the beach bag and I had to remind him to get it, sign number 2 that there was probably no plan for a proposal. Once we got to the restaurant and were seated, we ordered appetizers and our main courses, which were delicious but so tiny. We opted against dessert, due to the loud and rowdy group at the bar, which confused us, since this was a fancy waterfront restaurant. It was clear that we were both still hungry. When we got to the parking lot, I looked over at Jake innocently and asked if we could stop at McDonalds on the way to the beach, which seemed to make him very happy. We ordered french fries to share, ice cream cones and hot chocolate. Jake had researched a secluded little beach, which was away from the road, so it would be perfect for star watching. Earlier in the day, the weather said it would be overcast with low visibility for stars, but once we got to the beach, the clouds parted and we could see nearly every star in the sky. It was a little chilly, so we put on our sweaters and laid out the beach towels to snuggle and watch the night's sky (one of our favorite pasttimes in Hawaii). We were laying in silence and enjoying the beauty from the crashing waves and the majestic sky, when Jake turns over to me and starts to talk about the past two years of our relationship and the challenges we have faced and prevailed over easily. He talked about how natural and effortless things are between us and how we make each other better.. about how much he respects my strength and values me as an entire person for everything I am and everything I will be. After a brief pause, he pulls something out of his pocket, opens a small box with a blinding light and says, "So..?". Honestly it took a few seconds for my eyes to adjust to the light and see the ring. With a huge smile on my face I responded with, "So.. what? You didn't ask me a question!" Then he smiled and said "Will you marry me?" and I squealed out "yes! Of course." At that point I finally got a good look at the ring (since my eyes were done adjusting to the light in the box) and I realized it was the exact ring of my dreams! He slipped the ring onto my finger and it fit perfectly (thankfully he had my ring size from our shopping trip over a year prior)! I love our story and I would not have changed a thing <3 |
