Signed, Sealed, Delivered

Memo to Trenton Bowen: In the words of Stevie Wonder "Signed, sealed, delivered...I'm yours."


Trent and I were officially engaged on Saturday February 28th. To say that I am excited is an understatement. I have been so happy in our relationship and look forward to continuing our friendship and love.


I love to hear about the engagement details so I will give you ours. Last week I received an email from Trent suggesting that he take me out shopping for my birthday. How could I turn that offer down? I happily agreed to spend my Saturday afternoon with him in downtown Alexandria, Va. The night before the shopping trip I told him that we needed finish early enough for me to pick up my friend Mary from the Baltimore airport. Trent told me that he had gotten dinner reservations and they could not be moved back. He then started to call and ask our friends if they might pick up Mary. The ever-so-wonderful Melanie Beal gladly agreed to pick up Mary. I thought that they must be some reservations but dismissed the idea that it was more than a birthday celebration.


On Saturday we did the usual things: exercised, bought our groceries for the week, and took a nap. Around four o'clock we started our shopping trip. I went to many stores and tried on some dresses but none seemed to work. He told me that he had heard about a quaint clothing store a few blocks down. We walked around the store but I did not find anything. After leaving the store, he received a text message from "his mom" saying that she had made it to her destination. (Turns out this was our friend Wayne setting up the proposal scene.) Then he suggested that we go to another store that was on the other side of the square. By this point I was very impressed with his knowledge of clothing stores in old town. He lead us up to through the square. We had breakfast together on our third date in this square. We had also gone back there a few times while dating.


As we walked, I noticed out of the corner of my eye a path made of rose petals that lead to the benches were we ate on our third date. I was giddy and not at all nervous. We stood at the base of the bench and he said some wonderful things to me about our relationship and our future. Then he got down on one knee and asked me to marry him. I said yes and then gave him a huge hug. The tourists had noticed what was happening and they began to cheer for us. We gave them a little wave and then I put on my wedding ring. In the bushes there were cards with quotes of things that we had said to each other during our courtship. As we read them we laughed and I cried.


We called our families and reported to them the exciting news. My parents cheered and my dad teared up. Both of our parents said "I love you guys." We are so blessed to have such loving parents that are excited to welcome the other as their own. I called my grandmother and she was more cautious and wanted to make sure that Trent treats me well enough. I assured her and she said "Well tell Trent that I think I love him too." That was pretty good for her.


We celebrated with a Delicious dinner at The Grill at Morrison House. We had a delectable 5 course meal.


Since the engagement, I have to remind myself that this is all real. I have to keep saying to myself and Trent "You are my fiance" and "we are getting married." When I really think about it, I become somewhat emotional due to the level of gratitude that I feel towards Trent and the relationship that we have built together. He was worth the wait. I look forward to you all getting to know him and "us".

The scene
The bench were he proposed.

Grill at Morrison House