On June 16, I met David in Spain, where he has some friends he knows from chiropractic school. We stayed with them for a week in San Sebastian, which is a beautiful city on the north coast just across the border from France. My family has this debate about mountains vs. ocean, but in that area you don't have to choose. You get the best of both worlds! It's gorgeous.
We also spent a couple days in David's friends' parents' house in the French Pyrénée mountains. On Wednesday, June 22, we took a hike, and stopped for lunch at a quiet grassy spot off the hiking path. It overlooked a breathtaking scene with mountains, cascading waterfalls and valleys. The day was picture perfect -- bright blue sky, sunshine, a refreshing breeze. I took David's windbreaker out of our backpack and shook it out to sit on. Oops! He had the ring box wrapped up in the jacket.
Fortunately, it didn't go tumbling off the edge of the mountain. Instead it just fell on top of our stuff in plain view. I happened to be looking away and didn't see it; I just saw David's face frozen with a look of shock and disbelief. "Close your eyes!" he said. I blinked quickly, thinking I had something on my face he was going to brush off. "No -- close your eyes! Keep them closed!" I did. When he told me to open them and asked if I'd seen anything. "No," I said. "Promise?" Hmm... that's when I first started to suspect what might be coming.
David wasn't prepared to pop the question at that exact moment, but after all that he didn't have much choice. So he went for it. He said a lot of sweet things about us and why he thinks we can have a wonderful relationship and that he wants to pursue our dreams together... and I really wish I could remember more clearly what he said. I was a bit flustered because I still had sandwhich in my mouth and was nervous that I would have bread stuck in my teeth for this pivotal moment in my life!
I didn't need to think about my answer; I've already thought about it plenty! So I said "yes" right away.
So there it is. That's how it happened.
One more detail, for those who will wonder: David had a chiropractic seminar in Colorado a couple weeks before we met in Spain. He took a layover in Chicago so he could spend the night at my parents' house, and while there asked them permission to ask me to marry him.
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