Happy Story!

We are now engaged.

It is exhilarating.

At approximately 10:30 last night (New Year’s Eve), I got down on bended knee in front of my friends at Michael’s party and popped the question. I had planned on waiting a bit longer, but when two friends began saying their early goodbyes to get home to their kids I decided I should act quickly. The aforementioned friends were waiting for the aforementioned host to return from his apartment upstairs. When he came back, the butterflies in my stomach morphed into a swarm of bees. I told the few people hanging out in the foyer and kitchen to come into the main party room.

As Kid Rock’s “Bawitdaba” blared from Dan’s docked iPhone, I asked him to hit the pause button. He looked back at what was obviously a beet-red face and said, “Hit pause?” I think he may have realized what was about to happen considering the seizure-level trembling I was trying to supress.

What follows is my best remembrance of my “speech”. I was told it came out nicely; it remains a blur to me.

“Can I get everyone’s attention for a minute? It’s good to be here surrounded by lots of friends (and a few people I haven’t had the chance to meet yet). You know, 2008 has been a weird year in the world. I don’t mean to brag, but 2008 has been a really good year for me personally, and I owe that to my wonderful girlfriend Kim. Kim, you have changed my life for the better in so many ways, and I am a better person for having known you. So, before we take our first steps into 2009, I want to take the next step in our relationship. [To knee, out comes ring] Kim, will you marry me?”

I think that’s about right.

She said ‘yes’, if not audibly then certainly visually. There were tears in her eyes and her hand was over her mouth. She tells me my hands were shaking pretty badly as I put the ring on her finger, so she helped me get it the rest of the way. And with perfect tension-breaking timing, Dan hit play on his iPhone

It became even more blurry after that—a whirlwind of hugs, congratulations, and kisses from Kim. I went and called my parents, then spent the rest of the evening in a light-headed, smiling stupor, getting more congratulations, more compliments on the ring, and more kisses from Kim.

We drank some more wine, counted down the New Year, celebrated 2009, celebrated our love, celebrated the start of a new phase in our lives.

It couldn’t have turned out better.