Marriage

MARRIAGE ROCKS, part 1


Hey there all you blogger fans. You might be like “Marriage Rocks, part 1?”

Yep, despite being a writer, I couldn’t think of a better title for a little five part series I’m doing on marriage this week.

“Why?” you might ask? For a variety of reasons. But the first one is because I’m going to celebrate my 12th anniversary with my hubby on Sunday the 10th. Now, all those couples out there celebrating 30 years or more are chuckling under their breath thinking, “Oh honey, 12 years is nothing.”

That’s great, tell me about it. I want to hear what’s kept you and your spouse together for so many years. Tell us your secrets.

For my first post of the week on marriage, I thought I would share how my hubby proposed to me. It’s a fun story for me to share because I love hearing how people got engaged, so be sure to log on and tell me how you were proposed to, or how you did the proposing!

Charlie was in graduate school (he’s a Physical Therapist) and I was working. We were just 22 and 23 years old. I remember it plain as day because I was living in my little 500 square foot apartment and on this particular Valentine’s Day, I was doing a puzzle. Charlie had a mega exam the next day, so he had to study, but said he’d stop by on a “study break” so he could at least see me on Valentine’s Day.

He came in, went to my little Sanyo boom box and plopped in a CD. He’s a music lover so I wasn’t surprised, he always has music playing. But he put on MY favorite song at the time, Anytime You Need a Friend, by Mariah Carey.

He asked me to dance.

Ok, yeah, something’s going on, I thought.Oh wait, no, it’s just because it was Valentine’s Day. So, I assumed he was just trying to be sweet and romantic. So, we were swaying to the music for a while before he stopped and pulled a little black box from his pocket then bent to one knee.

I think my heart stopped, literally, for, like, 30 seconds. It was amazing. My head swirled, my heart pounded, and I got weak-kneed. But what was even more amazing was that the diamond perched in the setting of my new ring was his mother’s engagement diamond! Yes, how precious is that? His parents were approaching their 30th anniversary around the time when we were getting engaged and she had gotten a new diamond ring for an anniversary, so Charlie had her diamond set in a new ring for me. Oh My! I was honored (and still am) to wear that precious treasure.

That was a Valentine’s Day I’ll never forget.

We were married just under six months later!

What’s your story of engagement or proposing? I’d love to hear it!!

8 Comments

  • Kat

    Cool that you’re focusing on marriage!

    How’d my husband propose to me? It’s not nearly as romantic as your story, but it fit the two-letter-word theme of our relationship — So…

    I decided to move back into my parents’s home in an attempt to grow up and be more mature. I’d left college because it didn’t hold my interest and I couldn’t see spending so much money just to meet new people to party with… 🙁

    My husband was helping me move my stuff and out of the blue he said, “So…you want to get married or something?”

    I shrugged my shoulders and said, “Okay.”

    That was more than 15 years ago, (we celebrated our 14th anniversar on July 1) and the laid-back So… theme of our relationship still works.

  • Desert Lady

    Sheri,
    We’ve been married 40 yrs. (I was a “child bride!”) In thinking about longevity, a few short words come to mind: be open (heart to heart), forgive, accept your mate, rely on God’s grace. Mingle passion and compassion. Make God the Center, of your own heart and of your marriage. Blessings on your week of “Marriage” discussions AND on the celebration of your 12th Wedding Anniversary!

  • Mom B.

    Hey, Sheri, I remember that day very well. Your husband comes by the “surprise” thing very naturally! He had a good teacher. Mom B.

  • Jessica Bradley

    WOW! What a great story! I was proposed to once but I ended up not accepting it. I don’t think that’s the kind of story you’re looking for. =)

    I’ll let you know if/when that happens to me! =)

    Happy Monday!