Saturday, October 2, 2010

IS THAT A RING IN YOUR POCKET?

Please excuse the delay in this entry as I had every intention of keeping up with a monthly post... That was until I received a text message, roughly a month and a half ago, from MG (AKA Michelle Guerin/ my bridesmaid and future sister in law).
The text read : What kind of ring do you want?
At first glance, this message seemed fairly routine..as MG and I tend to chat about such topics like trendy nail polish colors, jewelry and our favorite new stores opening up. I casually shared the text with my Amie Fabulous who was quick to inform me:
"Oh my god, you are getting engaged!"
My lipless world as we knew it had been changed forever with these seven words.....

I am a self proclaimed "girl's girl"... A hopeless romantic who enjoys long walks on the beach. I don't understand football and Lifetime is my favorite channel. But never have I been one to care about rushing down that aisle!! I supposed it would happen for me someday, but I was happy to sit back and enjoy the ride/ wait.

This ride came to a screeching halt mid August.. and suddenly I barely recognized my own behavior. The weekend following the "ring inquiry", Tommy decided to plan a romantic weekend get away to Booth Bay Harbor....
He insisted on taking care of all of the details and arrangements as I sat back and stared at whom I thought for sure was my future groom. I was nervous, excited, crazy and ready for anything at this point.

As we drove up to Maine, I paid extra careful attention to details....When Tommy looked over at me and said, "You make me so happy..." I thought for sure this was it! I was so happy that I had packed my favorite lipstick!
Once settled at the hotel, after things seemed pretty status quo and Tommy was in the shower, I took it upon myself to search all of his belongings. The bottle of champagne in his duffle bag was a clear sign: I was getting engaged right here right now!

It didn't happen that Friday night, but Saturday was a new day and that champagne was still in hiding. Pretty sure I called about ten people that day just to clue them in that I would be returning a bride to be....
The sunset cruise was upon us and I was ready to say YES! With every question Tommy had to ask me, I was surprised to see him still standing up and not down on one knee. I officially lost my mind here in Booth Bay and returned with nothing but a rough draft of our guest list.

Needless to say, things were never to be normal again. Each time I couldn't locate Tommy for five minutes or more at any given time of the day or night I thought for sure he was up in NH asking for family's permission.
"How is Joe doing?" I would ask him after work....
"What the heck are you talking about?" he would answer as I winked at him. Yikes!

Several weeks went by, our trip to Maine was a distant memory, no one seemed to care what sort of ring I wanted anymore and I was ready to step it into high gear. I searched his underwear drawer, sneakers, cereal boxes and glove box. Nothing.
Tommy (knowing what he was dealing with) would laugh and claim that it would "happen before Christmas and to relax." That certainly wasn't sitting well as I had the entire wedding day planned at this point, but I believed him and tried to forget.

Our one year anniversary.. (one month later) was here and I was happy to exchange cards and play a game of scrabble at home. We had shared an amazing year together filled with fancy dinners, vacations, gifts etc... No need to go overboard.Truth is I had already put together a wedding budget which did not include any extravagant date nights in the mean time.
When Tommy made reservations at the Wentworth (location of our first date) for dinner I thought he was crazy and I wasn't afraid to tell him as much! I reluctantly headed up there with him counting down the days til Christmas. A real roller coaster ride if you will.

As we walked into the restaraunt, a surge of clarity came over me. It may have had something to do with the fact that I happened to feel a jewelry box in his pocket. And can you believe I had no lipstick with me!!???

I was engaged to the absolute love of my life/ best friend that evening and I wish I could tell you that I have relaxed a bit, but that would be a lie. I am frantically planning the wedding of our dreams! Please stay tuned-

Could be the most interesting 8 months of Tommy's life!! XO