1 Year Engagement Anniversary

One year ago today, Chuckie asked me to marry him.

I had the day off from work and had lunch with a co-worker. After lunch, I was reading Hunger Games on the couch, waiting for Chuckie to pick me up to go see a movie. Chuck left work early so we could make the last matinee showing of Mission Impossible: Ghost Protocol.  We went to dinner at The Melting Pot, because I had won a $100 gift card there at a work function earlier in the month. We went to Chuck's house to watch a UofL Basketball game, which almost didn't happen because I was convinced we needed to get to his sister's house earlier than 9 o'clock. Finally I gave in and we went to his house.


At Chuck's house, I saw a wrapped present labeled To Rachel From Chuckie under the tree and asked why he had a leftover present.  He told me it was part of my Christmas present- something he had ordered but came late in the mail, so he thought about saving it for my birthday but then decided to just go ahead and give it to me.  I opened it and it was a photobook, the kind you can make on Shutterfly or Walgreens and have printed. Chuck told me he wanted to give me something tangible on Christmas, since his other Christmas gift was tickets to a show happening in March.  I flipped through the entire book, clueless, and distracted by how sweet I thought it was that he put this book together. I lingered on each page, pointing out pictures that were my favorite and asking him where he found certain pictures. "The times in high school," "The time at the Derby," "The times in college," "The times on vacation..." etc etc and finally... a page with no picture but with the caption "The Time We Got Engaged. December 28, 2011."

After that I blacked out. Everyone always says they basically black out when they get engaged and can't remember what was said or what happened in the few minutes after. And it's true. I thought I would remember every detail of the moment, but really I just remember crying a lot and being so shocked and asking myself over and over again in my mind "Did this really just happen?" Especially because UofL was playing! Chuckie was missing the game to propose to me. This was huge! He really DOES like me more than UofL basketball! (All things I remember thinking that night.)

The first picture we took of ourselves after getting engaged.

We called some family and friends to tell them the news. Some people who didn't answer simply got this picture with the message "Call me." It was so exciting to tell people over and over again! After we called some family and friends, we finished watching the UofL game and then went to his sister's house and had champagne with his family and saw his nieces before they had to go to bed. Then we went to my parent's house and celebrated with my family. It was the best date night EVER. I'm still trying to figure out how Chuck was able to act so normal all the way through the movie and dinner, knowing what was going to happen later that night.

Adorable pictures his nieces drew for us that night that I will keep forever and ever.

And now here we are a year later- married, going through grad school in Boston, and loving life.

So much can happen in just one year!