The Finish Line
So on to Part II of my finish line story...
During the marathon, I saw the manfriend around mile 7 and then not again until the finish. I figured he and Jeff got caught up at breakfast and didn't have time to catch me during the race. I saw my mom several points throughout the race as she's a pretty skilled marathon spectator by now.
As I crossed the finish line with mixed emotions of regret for not picking up the pace earlier, excitement for running a 3:35 marathon and exhaustion, I saw the manfriend. He was standing about 10 feet across the finish line in the chute.
The first thing that came out of my mouth was "What are you doing here?"
Race officials, volunteers and runners of course are the only ones allowed in the chute. The manfriend gave me a big hug and told me he was proud of me.
Then he pulled me to the side and said "I have a question to ask you."
Things like..."You're the best thing that's happened to me. You're my best friend. I love you. and Will you marry me?" came out of his mouth as he got down on one knee and held out a little blue box.
As he started saying all of this, I knew what was coming, but he sure caught this sassafras off guard.
In front of a few thousand people at Hayward Field, at the completion of my best marathon, he asked and I said yes.
Never in my life did I think he would pop the question in front of a huge crowd. I wasn't expecting it. Sure the idea crossed my mind once, but I didn't suspect it on race day.
Being the emotional person I am, I was pretty shocked I didn't cry or scream, but I think the marathon had a bit to do with it...
Finally, I can stop badgering the manfriend about a proposal. I'm sure he's happy about that. :)
Afterward, I finally ran into Emily and SarahOUL.
What you might be wondering:
Did we look at rings together? Yep, we visited a few jewelry stores about 6 months ago and looked at a variety of styles. What I thought I wanted definitely was NOT what ended up liking best on my hand. It's cool to see how my preference changed.
The center diamond of the ring was my great grandma Isabelle's, which makes the whole thing much more special to me. My grandma gave the manfriend the diamond last summer.
The manfriend started looking at designs and working with the jeweler back in January, but once he picked the design, the process took about two weeks to make the ring.
Did the manfriend get my dad's permission? Sure did. On the way home from his bike race a few weeks ago, he stopped by my parents' house when my mom was gone to have a "chat" with my dad. So on Sunday, my mom was totally clueless to what was going to happen.
After "Congratulations!" the next thing people are asking is when and where is the wedding. Honestly, I have no idea. I have dream ideas and real world ideas (trip to Europe + a small party to celebrate with family and friends).
Right now, we are both just trying to enjoy the moment and just be. I'm not ready to be stressed out with planning yet.
The most fun part (besides staring at the ring), is hearing how excited everyone else is for us. It just makes you realize how much your friends and family really care and want to see you happy.
Spoiler Alert: I thought it would be fun to reveal the manfriend's real name. I'll probably continue using manfriend because I just like it, but the manfriend is - Pete!
Would you want to be surprised? Any fun engagement stories to share?
P.S. Thank you all for being awesome readers. Seriously.
During the marathon, I saw the manfriend around mile 7 and then not again until the finish. I figured he and Jeff got caught up at breakfast and didn't have time to catch me during the race. I saw my mom several points throughout the race as she's a pretty skilled marathon spectator by now.
As I crossed the finish line with mixed emotions of regret for not picking up the pace earlier, excitement for running a 3:35 marathon and exhaustion, I saw the manfriend. He was standing about 10 feet across the finish line in the chute.
The first thing that came out of my mouth was "What are you doing here?"
Race officials, volunteers and runners of course are the only ones allowed in the chute. The manfriend gave me a big hug and told me he was proud of me.
Then he pulled me to the side and said "I have a question to ask you."
Photo courtesy of mom
Things like..."You're the best thing that's happened to me. You're my best friend. I love you. and Will you marry me?" came out of his mouth as he got down on one knee and held out a little blue box.
As he started saying all of this, I knew what was coming, but he sure caught this sassafras off guard.
In front of a few thousand people at Hayward Field, at the completion of my best marathon, he asked and I said yes.
Never in my life did I think he would pop the question in front of a huge crowd. I wasn't expecting it. Sure the idea crossed my mind once, but I didn't suspect it on race day.
Being the emotional person I am, I was pretty shocked I didn't cry or scream, but I think the marathon had a bit to do with it...
Finally, I can stop badgering the manfriend about a proposal. I'm sure he's happy about that. :)
Afterward, I finally ran into Emily and SarahOUL.
Always fun to meet bloggers in real life after a few years of talking via twitter, email and blogs. Emily killed her 3:15 goal, btw - 3:08!
After grabbing some chocolate milk, a banana and a Krusteaz pancake, we spent the next few hours taking photos, telling family and friends the news and finally heading to the runner BBQ.
It was an exhausting day for sure, but super exciting. I wouldn't trade Part II for a BQ at the finish line. I guess that just means I'll have to run another marathon soon...
What you might be wondering:
Did we look at rings together? Yep, we visited a few jewelry stores about 6 months ago and looked at a variety of styles. What I thought I wanted definitely was NOT what ended up liking best on my hand. It's cool to see how my preference changed.
The center diamond of the ring was my great grandma Isabelle's, which makes the whole thing much more special to me. My grandma gave the manfriend the diamond last summer.
The manfriend started looking at designs and working with the jeweler back in January, but once he picked the design, the process took about two weeks to make the ring.
Because I know I would want to know what the ring looks like - here's a peek.
Did the manfriend get my dad's permission? Sure did. On the way home from his bike race a few weeks ago, he stopped by my parents' house when my mom was gone to have a "chat" with my dad. So on Sunday, my mom was totally clueless to what was going to happen.
After "Congratulations!" the next thing people are asking is when and where is the wedding. Honestly, I have no idea. I have dream ideas and real world ideas (trip to Europe + a small party to celebrate with family and friends).
Right now, we are both just trying to enjoy the moment and just be. I'm not ready to be stressed out with planning yet.
The most fun part (besides staring at the ring), is hearing how excited everyone else is for us. It just makes you realize how much your friends and family really care and want to see you happy.
Spoiler Alert: I thought it would be fun to reveal the manfriend's real name. I'll probably continue using manfriend because I just like it, but the manfriend is - Pete!
Would you want to be surprised? Any fun engagement stories to share?
P.S. Thank you all for being awesome readers. Seriously.
Comments
I am glad you are not putting pressure on yourself to make decisions. Enjoy this post engagement glow. I look forward to hearing the plans as they develop!
And I am so glad you included a picture of the ring!!! It's gorgeous! I wanted to ask to see a pic but feared that would be a tacky request. :)
I would want to be totally surprised, too! . I like the way my best friends husband did it - he had me help him pick out the ring. So she had no idea it was coming! But I knew for 6 weeks which was THE hardest secret to keep!!!!
ps- I'm also an emotional person and didn't cry when Brian proposed. I made up for that during our wedding ceremony though!
I've always wondered if people really remember what's said, hah. I guess you remember the important things - question, answer!
xo
Pete did such a great job on the proposal, I cannot think of a more perfect proposal for you two. Especially since you met running! And on your best marathon time yet. AHHH!
Your ring is gorgeous!! Isn't it funny how rings look different on different fingers? I also had a totally different idea about the kind of ring I wanted but when we went and tried them on a few months before Eric proposed I discovered it did NOT look good on my finger. Yours is GORGEOUS and looks great on your finger. I also love, love, love that it's your grandmothers diamond. That is just so special!
I'm over the moon happy for you!!! XO
I don't get a chance to comment often, but I just wanted to say I love reading your blog. You and the manfriend seem to have a great relationship, and I love reading a Oregon blog (I live in London currently, but my family is back in WA/OR).
Congratulations, again!
Cynthia - thanks for reading and commenting. It's always nice to hear compliments like that.
Congrats, my friend :) xoxoxo
Beautiful ring and beautiful story!!!
Perfect that you revealed the manfriend's name on this post. Congrats to you guys!
I love that you helped pick out the ring. We had a jeweler design mine as well, and used a family diamond for the center stone.
What a SMART guy Pete is- He knew what he wanted and he got to the finish line first :) A happy ending and a happy beginning!