Uncommon Legend

It’s Tuesday, June 14, 2022, and I am less nervous than yesterday but still anxious, nonetheless. I have been waiting on this day since the night I proposed. However, there’s this odd loneliness to it. I guess some would call it the calm before the storm. As the time ticks away, I want to invite you to take a walk down memory lane with me. It was Saturday, February 5, 2022, and it felt like a typical day, but not really. I had everything planned to the minute. Which, if you know me, that is normal. I remember Kathryn called me that morning to let me know she was getting ready for the day, and I had to act like I wasn’t prepared to crap my pants at a moment’s notice. We talked about what we would do that day and how we prepared to see our friends that evening for a couple’s date. But then, she said something that could have ruined all my well-crafted plans. She asked if I wanted to hang out with some of our regular buddies, which was completely fine, just not that day; I didn’t want the plan to get derailed in any way. I was nervous because I didn’t want to alarm her, but I also wanted the surprise to remain intact. Then. It hit me, lie. You know, the number one don’t of a relationship. I had to tell her how I didn’t think they would be available until late that evening, knowing good and well that we would see them in just a few hours. After a well-constructed counter idea and a few text messages, we made new plans to visit one of our favorite spots, The Lucky Rabbit.

The relief I felt after changing plans was unimaginable. Don’t get me wrong, I love seeing my friends, but for the plan to work, I needed the plan to work. I had given everyone the details for the evening and to seem the most unsuspicious as the day went on. I only asked a handful of people, but I felt like keeping track of an army. Kathryn was completely unaware I had plans, but I couldn’t risk her finding out prematurely; my goal was to surprise her the best way I knew how, strategic planning. However, before moving forward, my “strategic” planning was done within three days, from Tuesday – to Thursday that week, while on my lunch breaks at work. Mainly because I was stressed beyond measure because I had Kat’s ring in my possession, and I needed to plan everything out because I felt like she would find out about the ring. Was it being a tad bit dramatic? Probably! But I wanted to propose to her, and the days were too far apart to wait any longer. Now back to the story.

As the day continued, I thought, “This plan is working; everything is going fine. All we need to do is hang out until it’s time to go to dinner, then phase two of the plans will begin, right?” Wrong! She texted her best friend and my coworker and asked to hang out. It was 4 pm, but it felt like am. I felt like time had just extended, and there was no way of turning back the dial. My heart was racing, but I had to remain calm; it was her best friend, and she deserved to see her. I remember sitting there all calm on the outside but a wreck inside because I was afraid the plan would fail. I plan for things because I always want them to go perfectly, and failure is not an option. If I failed at something, I created a new plan and used that to get out of the rut. However, Kathryn is a person with her own thoughts, ideas, rhythms, and plans for herself. In other words, I can’t control what she does and vice versa. So, I had to sit with myself and be patient. We had a good time; we laughed and left with plenty of time margin to get ready.

The time was now upon us, and it was about to go down. My friends that I recruited were all in place and ready to help me with the big ask. As we arrived at the alleyway that I proposed to Kat, I took a second to take it all in. She’s the woman of my dreams, and a few of my closest helped me carry out the plan. As I got on one knee, I thought to myself, “This is it, she’s the one, and this was all worth it,” When she turned around and told me, she realized the entire day was a ruse for that one moment. She said yes, and nervously I slid the ring onto her finger and knew all the stress and planning was worth it! However, Kathryn taught me a valuable lesson that day. Just because it wasn’t precisely the plan you wrote down doesn’t mean it was a complete waste of time. She also taught me I could take a chill pill or two, haka. The moral of the story is that I would do it all again if I had to because she’s worth every second of it!