Nov. 4th

Today is important and special to me and it has nothing to do with the election.

Three years ago today I was ignoring the cues from my boss who was trying to convince me to leave work early. I had also called my mom the night before to complain that my boyfriend was acting really weird, really anxious. When Russ called me at work to see if I wanted to get off work early and go for a walk, I was pretty casual. "Sure, whatever." When he came to pick me up, I said, "Babe, there's a really good Oprah on today. It's all about how to do your make-up professionally...do you care if I stay home for awhile and watch?"

Bless his heart. Yes, he did in fact care. I then convinced him that I needed to drop my car off at the shop for some repairs. I think Russ had it taken care of in 15 minutes flat. Man, he was really looking forward to that walk.

It was the beginning of November and the leaves were falling slowly, much like they are today. We were walking around one of our favorite spots in Dallas: Kessler Park. I noticed how edgy Russ seemed. When we came to a place in a park where there was a waterfall gurgling, he told me he needed to pee. He then took off behind a tree. Whatever, dude. I was feeling pretty calm, wondering what we'd be up to that evening, watching the leaves fall and listening to the gurgle of the nearby creek.

And then Russ walks up to me and proposes. (Note: he would want me to clarify that he had to get the ring out of his pocket and his best excuse at the time was, "I need to pee.")

I won't go into the details of that conversation because it involves a lot of explanation, a lot of history on our parts. But I will say that I was COMPLETELY taken off guard. So much so that when Russ presented the ring, I truly thought he was joking. I pulled an Elaine (on Seinfeld) and shoved him. But then I noticed tears in his eyes and I took another look at that ring (he told me later he was terrified when I pushed him that the ring was about to go sailing into the creek).

I won't share my exact wording here (as it was a little on the colorful side) but trust me, I said yes. Looking back, what I love most about how Russ proposed was that he totally had me thrown off - I didn't have an inkling that the proposal was coming. Those of you who know me well know that I am a raging control freak. This was the most beautiful part of getting engaged: I was completely out of control of the event.

Three years later and I am more grateful than I ever thought I could be for one person. Russell is the perfect match for me. He is gracious with me when I am childish and mean. He will pick my brain about a topic and makes me feel intelligent and cherished. He loves on my family and friends and truly enjoys getting to know people and making them feel at home in our house. He races me to Davy's room to wake her so that he can relish those moments where she is still sleeping peacefully. He is a gentleman. (Can't say enough about that one.) He's a hard worker and a kind leader. Russ, your birthday is coming up so perhaps I shouldn't exhaust the list of great things about you - as if I could anyway!


And I love that Katy got to see the ring before I did.