My Engagement Story

So, I had a feeling Saturday might be the day J was going to propose. 

He’d been talking about wanting to have a date day together, but he was being unusually vague about the details. He’s never vague or coy about our date plans, so I knew something was up.

However, I decided to play along because he’s such a thoughtful and intentional person. I knew that whatever he had planned, he had put a lot of work into it and did not want to spook him into thinking I had figured it out. 

That morning, I was the first one awake. I walked into the kitchen and found red roses waiting for me. He’d found a way to sneak out and get them and have them for me in the morning. 

We went to my son’s early morning soccer game, and as we were getting in, he said he thold maybe he left the trunk open and asked me to close it. 

I went to the back of the trunk, saw it was perfectly fine, and then jumped and did a small skip because I knew IT WAS HAPPPPENING1111 lol

I went back to my passenger seat, and sure enough, there was a card waiting for me. It said, “Happy Date Day!” and inside was a poem about some of our favorite things and reasons he loved me.

But I noticed in addition to the card with the first poem, there was a second inserted index size card that had another longer poem inside. 

Each of the poems had at least 6-8 lines detailing our favorite jokes and special moments. I thought that was it until I looked back at him with thanks, and he told me to read it again, and I  realized the 2nd card was a clue!

Today was going to be a scavenger hunt! He knows romantic scavenger hunts are one of my favorite things, so the games were afoot!

The first clue led to our favorite sweets bakery. He took me home to rest after the early morning wake up and returned with a bakery box filled with my favorite treats and the next clue taped inside. 

The clue led to one of our favorite movies and I raced to our DVD collection to find the next clue, and when I found it, it was the first time of the day that I lost it.

Spirituality, tarot, astrology, and all of things woo are really important to me. J doesn’t personally follow any of it, but he sees me, knows how important it is to me, and is constantly encouraging me to be my full self. 

So with knowing this, I saw the back of the clue first that showed that he had hand drawn a picture of the Four of Wands. 

If you know tarot, you know that the Four of Wands represents celebration, family, and coming together. The image is of two people with their hands raised, holding hands and celebrating what they have.There’s flowers and bouquets all over the card. 

And he’d taken the time to draw and incorporate it, and I lost it. 

Before J, I hadn’t had a partner who I felt fully safe sharing this full part of me. Many I felt either at best tolerated it or at worst, chose to not hold it against me.

J will actually bring up everything from my transits and moon phases, my cycle syncing, my meditation and prayer practices, and listen to my ramble on and one about what I feel like is going on with my energy and aura. 

He fully sees me, and so him taking the time to incorporate it in this day and so intentionally - specifically researching and picking that card and drawing it meant so much.

At this point, he was video taping me, but seeing that I started crying, he stopped recording, came over, gave me a hug, and told me I deserved it.

And, of course, that tenderness made me cry even more.

The next clue was on the back of the drawing, and it was actually a cipher where each letter meant a different letter. He knows I love puzzles, and I was to solve the cipher to get the next clue. 

We put the movie on in the background while I worked on it - laughing out loud when I got to places that had words from inside jokes. 

Up until this point, the one thing J did do very well was confuse me on the details of the day. I couldn’t tell if we were going to be inside at home all day our outdoors.

So in the morning after the game, I directly asked him if I needed to be prepared to go anywhere after we showered or if I could stay home and expect to relax. He indirectly said I could relax, so I thought that meant it would be all at home. Plus, the day before I chipped my nail, showed him, and mentioned that I should probably get it fixed - giving him an opportunity to tell me whether I should get it fixed that day or if I could wait. He didn’t take the bait, so I assumed we’d be at home.

However, as I continued to decipher it, I realized it was pointing to one of my favorite Spiritual and Metaphysical stores in the city. 

So I asked him again if we needed to go to multiple places and if I needed to be photogenic. He was still playing coy, and I said, “Ok, that’s fine. We’re going to get my nails done!” lol

I found out later that that’s when he texted his friends and said, “I think she’s on to me. We’re going to get her nails done.” (This was also the friend he had secretly commissioned to take pictures for us later. :) )

We picked matching clothes (we love to intentionally match as much as we can), and headed to get my nails done before going to the crystal store.

Once there, J told me he wanted us to pick out crystals to represent our our relationship.

At first, I was really distracted and I kept going towards my personal favorite crystals. That felt too off task, so I asked him to take the lead. He excitedly said, “Heck yes!” and went and read the meanings of each of the stones and picked the ones that best incorporated what our relationship meant to hima and the blessings he wanted us to always have in the future. 

He told me to pick whatever else I wanted in the store and kept saying he needed to use the bathroom and that I could continue to browse. 

When we checked out, the cashier handed me the receipt instead of him, and we walked out hand in hand to the car. I told him I wanted my next clue. At first he played dumb again, and when I didn’t see it in the front seat waiting for me, I got confused.

At that point, he said I already had it. I looked in the shopping bag and saw the cashier had wrapped the clue up in the receipt, and I screamed, jumped, and started laughing. (Thank God I didn’t do that in the store and mess up the peaceful, quiet vibes they had going on in there, lol)

At this point, I was getting so excited that I could barely read the clues without having to literally stop and catch my breath. This was another poem that led to our favorite restaurant where he had already made the reservation. 

At the restaurant, we ordered one of all of our favorite dishes and good cocktails. With the cocktails in me, I was done playing dumb and directly started asking him for my ring and the next clue, lol. 

He insisted there wasn’t another clue until the check came and she handed him the bill and me my next clue. 

I screamed and punched him repeatedly in the chest with excitement. His response in addition to laughing was, “Ow lol” 

This final clue was another longer poem, detailing what he loved about me and the life he wanted us to have together. But I realized that, for this one, the first letter of each line was emphasized and bolded. It spelled out, “I LOVE YOU.” 

I commented how sweet it was, but there was no information about our next stop. I looked back at him confused and he told me to read the clue again, and I realized it was telling me to use all the rest of the clues to solve this one.

That’s when i realized that first bolded letter of each line wasn’t just there for grammar, they were an acrostic spelling out the hidden message of my next and final clue.  

With blurry excitement, I got all of the clues I had brought with me in my purse together and realized he was asking me to take a walk in our favorite park to our favorite tree. 

This is a tree we love so much, he had talked about getting married under it many times before. 

I yelled, “WE'RE GOING TO THE TREE!” punched him again in excitement, and practically skipped to the car. 

As we got closer to the park, we passed his old home which had other trees that were super important to our story that he pointed out and I started to cry again. 

When we got to the park, I bounced out the car and started bouncing as we made our way to the tree. When I finally saw his friend hiding behind a retaining wall, I started jumping higher, lol 

I was able to pull it together for his actual proposal. 

With as much as he had already written, I was surprised he would have more, but he did!

He talked about life he wanted for him and I, more about why he loves me and how I changed his life, and the love and blessings he wants for Aiden, my son, as well, and then got on one knee and proposed. 

I cried some more, and then said yes! 

We took pictures together, I skipped around and did some twirls with my perfect ring, and then it was time to go. Once we got to the car, we realized that I had forgotten my phone at the restaurant in my excitement to get to the next place. 

At the restaurant, the hospitality team asked for an update and were very excited to hear I said, “Yes!” 

It was the sweetest day.

What made it so special wasn't just the proposal itself. It was how thoughtfully he'd planned the entire day around the things we love, the places that mean something to us, and the little details that make our relationship ours with lots of laughs in between, one of the cornerstones of our relationship.

I am really lucky because this is standard for how my partner treats me. 

He makes me breakfast in bed daily, is the first person available anytime me or my son needs help, and is thoughtfully attentive to be available for me at any time. 

He remembers what I don’t remember and fully takes ownership of being a full partner for me. He actively knows and tells me how lucky he is to have us, and wants to make sure I feel loved and encouraged all of the time.

I’m really excited for this next chapter, and am thankful to those who are a part of my loving community celebrating this story with me as well!