In between the hustle and bustle of life

why do i feel so far away...

from what can make me happy?

long distance relationships are tough…. work through it…you are strong and will make it work.

mac,

I got your letter/postcard/shot glass today.

It made my day.

Thank you.

-sam r.

ps. i miss you too.

haha I know it is random things from Chicago, but it was all I could afford since I was saving for Becky’s ring. I’ll be keeping my eyes on my mailbox. :) I expect greatness from you. And we still need to trade art.

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The Proposal Weekend

The story actually starts a month ago…when my best friend’s wife, Courtney, who used to work in the jewelry business, found a great deal on exactly the type of ring my girl friend wanted…. she told her old manager to hold it… and I was going to buy it the monday after my birthday…the weekend manager doesn’t see the note/sign placed by the ring in the back….and it gets sold. NOOOOO! You got to be kidding me… I call up the headquarters of Littman Jewelers and explain everything… she searches teh country in every store….there is ONE LAST RING…. in Arizona…. I put money down then and there to buy it. A week later…. it was at my door.

I had a bunch of ideas running through my head of what I could do to propose to Becky…. but when it came down to everything… I thought proposing in her school was the most appropriate because she loves her school and kids…and was the reason why I moved back down to Fayetteville for her. Even though Ben Stein doesn’t go through with it in the movie Meet The Parents, I thought that was a great idea and would be perfect surprise for my girlfriend. The way the end of the month lined up, Last Friday was perfect because I had a teacher work day and she had a regular school day (she teaches year round and is on a different schedule). I emailed her assistant and principal and they were on board to help me with the surprise…. the toughest part… was that my phone got stolen so I was hoping everything would go as planned in the emails.

I got to my school and talked to my principal and made sure my grades were posted in the system. I had an hour and a half before I was supposed to be at her school… so I figured I’d do some art…and since the other art teacher, Mrs. Snyder, was playing with clay… I’d join her and I’d throw on the one wheel we have in her room. I cleaned up and dropped by Walmart to grab a dozen red roses. Just as I’m pulling in…. I see Becky and her principal walking towards the office…perfect! I sneak around back with the big signs and roses to her classroom. Her assistant introduces me to the class and we organize the kids with the letter signs. After 2 minutes of standing, some of the kids get impatient says “Can we sit down?” haha I laughed to myself and asked they if they really loved Ms. Wilson they would stand tall and hold the signs. Some of the teaches caught word of what was going on and came in to see her reaction. When Becky and her principal came through the door, she was completely surprised. She was trying to hold back from tearing up. When I got down on one knee and asked her if she would marry me, she immediately said yes with a huge smile on her face. I went to put the ring on her hand and she was shaking (probably because how excited she was). I held the ring with 2 hands so I wouldn’t drop it. I stood up to give her a hug and a small but cute kiss. Her kids reactions were great. They all came and gave us a group hug. I then helped pass out treats for Halloween and left to cook her dinner. We then went to a little Halloween party. I asked her if she knew it was going to happen, and she had no clue and did not hear my aunt over the phone (which I was worried about). It was a complete surprise. :)

The next day we went to Durham to get the wedding bands. We had to special order mine, because I wanted a band with a celtic knot around it. She found the perfect band to match her engagement ring. The mall was huge and really nice so we kind of made a day of it looking in all of the shops. We then drove back for another Halloween party.

Sunday went to church and relaxed. We are both thinking around the end of June…. in Ohio by her parents house…so…. 8 months… oh boy, here come the planning…. haha :)

I’ve known for almost a year that she is the woman I want to spend the rest of my life with…. it was great to finally ask her and make it official. :)

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