Here there be dragons...

"I'm telling you stories. Trust me." - Winterson

Best. Dog Walk. Ever!

OMG I'm getting married!!!!!!!!

hahaha nobody's going to accuse me of burying the lead today ;-P   And yes, it is so very worth capital letters and exclamation marks.   Lots of them.  In fact I think it deserves more.  So for good measure:  Chris proposed this afternoon and WE'RE GETTING MARRIED!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Woohoo!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I try really hard not to include the really personal parts of my life on here.  Some of my friends have told me they like being mentioned -- they get names and stories.  Some are okay with me retelling stories, but I just do so without names.  And some things, simply, don't belong on the internet.  But this one, this one I'm claiming for myself.  And with a roll of the eyes, Chris agreed to me writing about it *g*

So let's recap the weekend shall we?   Saturday was pretty standard -- taught some, rode some, knocked out a few walls (okay, so my definition of standard might have changed in recent times -- sobeit).  Regardless, other than that I had a truly decent ride that I was legitimately happy with, and shooting paintballs indoors is all kinds of entertaining, there was really nothing to write home about.  Or even blog ;)

Sundays Chris and I have come to consider "lazy Sundays".  As in we try not to book anything ambitious or do anything reasonably productive.  At first this was challenging for both of us as we tend to be a *little* type A...  But, especially after the crash course in Cuba, we've gotten quite good at it.  And I can't speak for Chris, but I, at least, have grown fond of and am fairly protective of my lazy Sundays.  So today we had not-very-much planned.  A friend of mine was here from out of town, so we were meeting him for lunch.  And we'd spoken vaguely a few days earlier of taking advantage of the almost-spring-like weather to take the dogs out for a decent walk.  That was the entire extent of our plans -- that I was aware of anyways ;)

So lunch was great.  I didn't get to see C last time he was in town, so really good to catch up.  After lunch we dropped by some other friends of mine who live in that town, but unfortunately they were away.  Ah well.  Had some free time and weather was nice so went for a bit of a drive.  Only issue is, by the time we got back I was feeling really motion sick.  Boooo :(   Hasn't happened in *ages* but is so less-than-pleasant when it does.   Fortunately, I know from past experience that if I just stay very still for a while and drink some water, I'm usually fine.  I also know that if I ignore it, it gets worse, not better.  So despite the fact that both Chris and the dogs were pretty excited for the aforementioned walk, I begged a half-hour to recover.

Fortunately it worked and shortly thereafter we were off...  Headed to the rail trail with two very excited dogs.  Sun shining, temperature all kinds of civilized.  Trail was wet in places but entirely navigable.  So we're having a good time walking along, enjoying the weather and the views.  Rail trail in that section follows the river, so some stunning views.  At one point we could see deer grazing on the opposite bank.  Super cool.  Only thing is, the trail is mostly wooded, which means not as warm, which means it's still snowy.  Not really a big deal, except Chris managed to get both feet soaked.  Booo.  I asked if he wanted to go back, but he said no, so all good.  But then I hit an issue that had never occurred to me -- you see when I get motion sickness, I'm uber sensitive to it for several hours afterwards...   And the slipping and sliding on the snow was making me nauseous.  I suggested we go back and follow the trail the other way -- where it'd been out of the woods and therefore no snow.

But Chris wanted to keep going; said there was a bridge just up ahead -- we'd go there.  Okay, I can suck it up.  Once I realized he had a destination in mind sobeit.  And yes, you'd think I might've clued in.  Might've had the slightest idea.  But you had the first paragraph, you *know* where this is going.  I did not ;-P   And in my own defense, Chris - for reasons surpassing understanding - seems to actually love this little town of his and often will take me places just to show me something.  Like our random drive that morning, was to look at a cool farm.  And it's almost always something worth seeing, so I've learned to go along with these things...   He also offered to turn back, but the combination of a specific target (cause lets be honest, the rail trail goes a lot farther than we could walk in one day!) and the fact that we magically ended up in an area that the snow had all melted so I wasn't feeling worse worked out and we kept going.

Anyways - sure enough, we could shortly see the bridge he was talking about.  Or, more accurately, what used to be the bridge -- all that remains are the stone pillars (supports?  I admit to being too distracted to Google the correct terminology right this second.  Proposal to get to you know!).  I suspect Chris might've had a specific spot farther along, but I saw two benches.  And, of course, was oblivious to his plans...  And was still feeling quite ill and knowing if I sat for even five minutes, I'd feel a ton better and be able to actually enjoy the rest of the hike.  So I dragged him and the two dogs over to sit down.

Bench in memory of Gertrude and Allen.  Would like to know their story...

So we sat for a moment watching the stunning view of the river, well framed by the stone remains.  The dogs were being reasonably civilized at our feet -- neither pulling on the leashes or being silly. Nobody around anywhere -- our own private paradise.

And all of a sudden he had a ring in his hand and was asking me to marry him.

I'm still shaking as I write this.  I am so totally unbelievably happy.  The yes was a given :)   Fortunately I was wearing sunglasses so he didn't see how teary my eyes got.  Yup, about some things I am very much a girl.

We sat for quite a while watching the water, enjoying the moment, and just being together.  I love that we can be quiet together; I need quiet to function.  It was...  Absolutely perfect really.

When we got home pretty much the first thing I did was call my parents, and then my aunt Linda.  Those calls were a lot of fun to make -- I think they're almost as excited as I am :)  That was awesome.  Then we met up with Chris' parents for dinner.  They were super enthusiastic and very welcoming -- almost made me get all kinds of teary again.  Who is this person? ;)  I sent a message to one of my best friends asking her to call me if she was still up -- she lives in France and the time difference was not in my favour here...   After dinner called and texted a few close friends -- again so much fun.

And then...  The Facebook post.   I don't do "relationship" statuses as a rule.  To me, relationships are private and don't belong on the internet; the same reason for the absence from the blog.  Actually I remember when Chris and I started dating, having a conversation about it and saying that I couldn't imagine actually changing it until I was engaged to somebody...   Hahaha so jumping from several years of "none" to "engaged" with nothing inbetween -- got all kinds of fun comments!   My phone rang just as Chris was posting, so I approved it and then went away to talk.

When I came back, Facebook had exploded.  It was an almost overwhelming top to an unbelievable day.  The cheers and love and well wishes from everybody was so wonderful.  Those I'm close with and some I haven't seen since high school -- and yet all took the time to "like" and comment.  Took only a second or two, yet actually meant so much.

So yes, between this and whatever my soon-to-come next career will be, suffice to say this is yet another year of major life changes *g*    Should make for some entertaining blog posts if nothing else ;)

So happy.  Incredibly, over-the-top, she who writes compulsively can't come up with the words, happy.

Thanks Chris.  I love you.

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