"For Always"

Since Paul and I started talking about our lives together, we never really talked about "forever".  It was always "for always".

When it came time to get our wedding bands, I knew I wanted to get them both engraved with something meaningful and something that wouldn't lose meaning over time.  So we both took a little piece of paper, wrote what we wanted each others ring to say then we put it in the box.  I took them both to our jeweler to have them engraved.  I made sure to tell him that if Paul picks up the rings, don't let him see what his ring says.  And I (surprisingly) didn't even look.  I wanted to know, but I wanted to be surprised on our wedding day as well.

May 8th came around, and after we said our "I do's" I slipped off my ring to see what he wrote.  It said, simply, "For Always".  It made me smile even more than I already had been.  What did I write in his?  "For Always 5-8-11".  It really made me happy.  We know that we are meant to be.  But seeing what we both wrote, without knowing what the other was writing, well, its pretty cool.  Great minds think a like they say... I think the same goes for those who share a great love.

The Proposal

Sometime at the beginning of the year, we had discussed how this year we would make a point to go on vacation... Something other than the weekend getaways that involved no more than a four hour car ride.  We were going to getaway, far, far away.  So, we opted for a cruise to ALASKA!  Yes, yes, it is well known as a cruise for older people, but, it seemed so amazing we couldn't resist.  We booked it a few months later, and then the waiting process began!

Being that we were leaving on a Friday porting out of San Francisco's Pier 35, we decided to start the vacation early and head up the night before.  We looked online for the best hotels, wanting to do something different, something unforgettable.  We narrowed it down to two, and drove up one day to check them out in person.  (We all know how misleading the internet can be.)  We ended up choosing to stay at Cavallo Point Lodge in Sausalito, on the North end of the Golden Gate Bridge.  The views from this place were amazing, and the lodge itself was equally as amazing.  So, it was the one!

So the day FINALLY came, and we packed our bags and headed up to start our vacation.  We were both very excited to be getting away and having just over a week to ourselves, just the two of us.  The break was something we had both been looking forward to, we just wanted to sit back, relax, and enjoy the views.  We arrived at the hotel, set our stuff down, and proceeded to go exploring on the property.  (Come to learn later that Paul was actually scouting out places to propose!)  The fog was starting to come in over the hills, it was beautiful, super windy, but beautiful.  We went to dinner a little later at an amazingly delicious Italian restaurant called Poggios in Sausalito.  Then it was back to the hotel to relax and get ready to head to Alaska the following morning.

Since the fog had come in heavy that night, it was cold and wet outside.  It didn't feel anything like summer.  So we opted to stay and hang out in our suite and enjoy the pretty fog from the inside.  An hour or so later, somehow Paul got suckered into giving a back massage, actually take that back, he volunteered.  Then came time for his back massage.  I was not quite as excited to give one as I was willing to receive one that night.  However, I turned around and there Paul was, sitting on the bed with the ring box open, and simply said, "Will you marry me?"  There was no second thought, "Yes!" was the only thing that came out.

We spent the rest of the night just smiling and so happy to be engaged, and knowing that we would really be spending the rest of our lives together.  It is really an amazing feeling.  So happy, so complete.  Just perfectly happy in love.