Tuesday, October 21, 2008

How the Coach Won My Heart - Part 8

If you are just joining us, you can read the previous chapters here.


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He'd done it. He'd asked me to marry him. After 3 weeks of courtship. Just when I thought I'd figured out that there was no way for us to be engaged anytime soon.

I was very surprised.

OH. And I said yes. Actually, I think I kind of hollered "YES!"

Of course. I had been waiting to hear those words since I was a little girl. To be loved by this amazing guy. The blessing of our families made it sweeter, still.

There was no embrace, no kiss. He had made a commitment to wait until his wedding to kiss his bride. And we weren't there, yet. In spite of the fact that I had dreamed it that way, it was a beautiful moment, nonetheless.

I was still in shock as he sat back down beside me, while we looked more carefully at the ring he had place on my finger. It was beautiful. I was amazed.

And then, before I had a chance to catch my breath, he said, "I've been thinking about a date. How about December 17th?"

I think that surprised me even more than the actual proposal. After all, when he asked me to marry him, I just immediately assumed he had changed his mind about the long engagement. But THIS? THIS date? It was only eight and a half weeks away.

Eight weeks. To plan a wedding. To find a place to live. That wasn't a lot of time. And a DRESS! Oh my!

We only had a few more minutes to talk alone before all of the family started showing up. First my parents, back from dinner I'm not sure they ate. Then his parents, younger brother and little sister arrived. Soon after, my brother and sister-in-law and baby nephew. It was a party! All wanting to see the ring, all asking if we'd talked about a date. I said (not believing it when I heard myself speak), "December 17th." As if I'd really had time to think about it.

The truth was, I had no idea when it actually was or how it would work out. But I had said yes to the Coach. And if he had wanted me to marry him the next day, I would have.

He had thought about it. He'd thought about his classes, his basketball team, his Christmas break from school. If we married that particular weekend, he'd only miss a couple of days of work. We could have a one week honeymoon and be back for Christmas. Then a week to settle in before school started, again. He had it planned perfectly. I, on the other hand, had no clue. But it sounded just fine. And truthfully, I didn't care. All I knew was that I wanted to be his wife.

We all sat around in the living room, he and I beaming, the family asking questions. We sat close together, but not holding hands. The phone began to ring as those who knew "it" was going to happen started to call. The news was shared all around with lots of laughter and a few tears.

I couldn't believe it.

We were getting married! I didn't know him well, really. We hadn't spent a lot of time together or talked through every subject and what we thought about it. I didn't know his likes and dislikes, what his favorite meal was, his favorite song or much about his childhood or college years.

But I knew he was the one.

We had followed the Lord and walked through the open doors with the blessing of our families.

I had never been more sure of anything.


9 comments:

jo said...

So sweet. It gives me the warm fuzzies for sure. Doesn't it make you feel so young again to think about these things........ I mean really young - of course you ARE young....but I mean younger..... Hows that for sticking my foot in my mouth. I should say - it makes me feel younger.....er.er.er.

Mrs. Troop said...

Jo, you are making me laugh! I'm actually NOT so young, anymore. I look at those pictures and feel like an old woman! But the amazing thing is, I love the Coach a million times more than I did then. And even still, he makes my heart skip a beat when he walks in the door. I know I don't look like I did at 21 BEFORE 8 babies, but he looks at me the same way and loves me even more. It's precious. What a blessing!

Anonymous said...

Precious story!!

Mary

Michelle Simpson Photos said...

Such a great story!!

The Anderson Zoo said...

Love the story. Thanks for sharing it with us.

Corrie said...

Yay! I wish I could have been at your wedding...but I was still a little girl of 8 living in CO. So glad you were at my wedding! :-D

Anonymous said...

How fun to be able to read the whole story! Thanks for taking the time get us to the proposal! What a fun picture...what a wonderful mother you are now, who would have known all that the day that picture was taken! What a fun post to read!

Lori Leigh said...

Thank you for sharing. I absolutely love hearing this story! And it is so sweet. Looking forward to the rest!

Anonymous said...

wow! how precious to read your story!! I will be letting my 5 girls read it too and also my 17 yo son to see all the questions your dad asked. thanks for taking the time to share :)
Kristi