Show Us Your Life--Proposal Story

Mrs. G (not me, the other Aggie Mrs. G--whoop!) over at My Life in the Making posted her version of this post today.  The "Show Us Your Life" idea comes from another blog called Kelly's Korner, and is an every Friday post.  I've only posted with this blogring one other time, but I'm going to try to join in more regularly!

 Bryan and I met our freshman year in college in our dorm at A&M.  At our first Midnight Yell Practice, I was standing with a friend on the riser below Bryan.  The lights went down, and my friend and I had our lighters up.  The sophomore advisers were giving the boys a hard time for not "manning up" and kissing girls with raised lighters.  I heard a noise behind me and turned.  Bryan had decided to respect tradition and give me a kiss on the cheek, but he had tripped on his bleacher.  As he fell, he caught me half on the cheek, half on the mouth, and then we both ended up in a tangled heap on the riser below.  About a month after that, we started dating.

We dated all through college, with the exception of about a year, during which we both learned much about ourselves, realized we needed to grow up, and realized how much we loved one another.  During all of that, we also managed to stay best friends.

Bryan even took me to campus after I got my Aggie ring in the Spring of 2006, and took pictures of me with my new shiny.  We agreed that when he got his ring the following Spring, I would return the favor and take pictures of him.

We got back together after I returned from my stint studying abroad in Spain, at the very beginning of the Fall of 2006.  The timing was right--we had both grown up, and both realized that we were each other's match.  We couldn't see a future where we weren't together.

It wasn't very long after we got back together that Bryan started bringing up the idea of marriage.  He was all casual about it at first, with jokes and side comments.  Finally though we started discussing it in earnest.  I'll admit, I wasn't entirely convinced he was serious until he took me ring shopping in February of 2007.  After I picked out my ring, Bryan invited my mom out for lunch--just the two of them--and showed it to her, and told her his proposal plan.  Mom had to keep the whole thing secret from my Dad for about a month--I'm still not sure how she did it!  Bryan asked for my Dad's blessing while we were on a fishing trip with my parents, Spring Break of 2007.

April came around.  Bryan got his Aggie ring April 13th!  He, Mark and I, along with a bunch of our Aggie friends, dunked our rings that night. 

Then he and I got up in the morning and headed to campus so that I could take his pictures.  The weather was pretty horrible--windy and cold.  We were still having a great time, and I got some great pictures.

Then we came to Academic Plaza, where the statue of Old Sully and the Century Tree are located.  Bryan said, "Hey, I want a picture with you."  He grabbed a passerby to take the shot, and I turned towards Old Sully's statue.

Why?  Well, the Century Tree is a traditional Aggie proposal spot.  Tradition says you don't walk underneath its branches if you're single.  I had avoided doing so ever since my freshman orientation.  Call it superstitious if you will--I still say I was just honoring tradition ;-).  So, I was surprised when Bryan took my hand and redirected my steps.

I asked, "What are you doing?"  and he just said, "Come on" with that sideways, 'I'm up to something' smile he gets.  I have to admit I was kind of in a daze at this point.  My brain kept trying to catch up with what was happening.  He pulled me under the tree and knelt down on one knee, pulling a small box from his pocket.  I heard the girl who had our camera squeal and saw a flash go off.  Bryan looked up at me and said, "Kristen Marie, will you marry me?"

I stood there grinning like a fool and nodding my head frantically for a good 30 seconds before I finally remembered to say, "Yes!".  The wonderful girl with the camera took some great pictures of the whole thing.  We hugged, and took a few more pictures.  We then started walking out from under the tree, only to see a tour group standing at the end of the sidewalk, from where they had seen the whole thing.  Bryan said, "Well, she said yes!"  They all clapped and cheered, and the guide said, "And that's a great introduction to our next stop--the Century Tree".

Then my parents popped out from the entry was of the Harrington building, where they had been hiding, also taking pictures.  We all hugged and then got into the car, out of the cold, and met Bryan's mom for lunch at the Olive Garden.  It was one of the most wonderful, happiest days of my life--and very Aggie to boot!