Friday, November 21, 2008

No Ordinary Day

Today, November 21, is what I would call "no ordinary day". Why? Well, for starters, Jonah is home sick with a stomach virus that we are nursing with rest, Pedialyte and lots of "Kung-Fu Panda." :-)Hmm...I think he could get used to this treatment, huh?



John Owen had "Cowboy Fun Friday" at school today so he was "up and at 'em" this mornin' decked out in his cowboy gear and rarin' to go! (At least somebody around here is!)



Jan got up and left for work before 6:00 a.m. which is pretty ordinary, but the real reason this day is truly a "no ordinary day" is because of something Jan did 10 years ago on this day...

He unexpectedly popped the question of "Will you marry me?" to a very surprised me!

TEN YEARS AGO...it hardly seems so. We were enjoying a visit to the Smoky Mountains and planning to catch the TN vs. Kentucky game later that day. We hiked through the woods just a short distance down from the Missionary Baptist Church there in Cades Cove. I kept warning him that I really didn't think we should get off of the main trail. (I could just envision a park ranger coming and hauling us off in front of all those bystanders.) My adventurous and nervous husband helped us over the bobbed-wire fence, which I am pretty sure we weren't supposed to cross, and we walked out into the open field. There was one tree standing out in the field, so we decided that was our destination. With both of us dodging cow "patties" and me looking over my shoulder for that park ranger, we finally reached the tree. We talked about how pretty it was there in Cades Cove with the mountains in the backdrop. And then he said,"If I ever ask you to marry me, do you think this would be the kind of place you'd like me to ask you?" "Yeah, sure," I replied and then started to ramble about how I had several childhood memories of this place. And then he did it! He got down on one knee (such the traditional guy:-)) and said," Well, will you?" I think the rest went something like this: "Will I what? Oh my gosh...are you serious?" (Ever wish you had said something ELSE?) I looked into his face and eyes and saw he was serious, and I gave him the answer..."YES!" From behind his back he pulled out a small blue box and opened it to show me the ring that I would forever wear as a symbol of this day and our "marriage to be." And I have never tired of looking at it! I suspect after 50 years, I will not be tired of looking at it! As he left this morning, he kissed a sleepy-headed me good-bye and whispered, "Thanks for saying yes." With my eyes still closed, I responded with " Thanks for asking me." :-) And that's why today is "no ordinary day".

It's the anniversary of when he asked and I said yes!

1 comment:

Amy said...

Well, Erik and I were also engaged in Gatlinburg. When asked me, I too said, "Are you serious? Oh, my gosh!? Does my Mom know about this?" So...YES, I wish I would have said something else, but hey when you are unexpecting something like that, words just tend to come pouring out of your mouth. ha!