I don't know what it was, but I knew I wanted to marry Jimmy from the first day I met him. Hands down. They always say that when you know, you just "know." I never thought that would happen for me. I tend to be a skeptical person by nature, so there was no way that I'd find someone and automatically know that I wanted to be with them forever. Once we started dating in October of 2005, I felt crazy for having those feelings so early on, but I couldn't help it. I secretly hoped that he felt the same way, but I didn't want to be that girl that sits down with her boyfriend and says, "Let's talk about where 'we' are going." I just enjoyed hanging out with him and kept my feelings to myself. As time went on, he would say little things here and there that indicated to me that he'd like me to stick around for awhile. I decided I would wait and see what the future held.
On Sunday, April 3, 2006, Jimmy asked me if I'd like to go out on his dad's boat. Well OF COURSE, so I said let's go! We drove down to the dock, hopped on, stopped for gas and a few snacks and headed off for a joy ride. We stopped at Masonboro Island, where he threw the anchor in and helped me off the boat.
I was thinking, "Ah yes. I'll be able to lay out and relax for a little while before I go back to school tomorrow!" We started walking around the island and I realized that there was no one else around. We were literally all alone. Very strange. As I was trying to scope out a place to relax, Jimmy just kept walking.. and walking and walking. Finally, after walking around in what seemed like a hundred circles, he nervously asked me if I'd like to go out that night and celebrate. I said cluelessly, "Celebrate what?" He answered, "Our engagement." I thought "OH MY GOD. OH MY GOOOOOOD. It's happening!!!!" Everything after that was really a blur, but I remember him getting down on one knee and reciting the little speech he had rehearsed and then came the ring. THE RING. It was absolutely stunning. So stunning that I asked him if it was real. Yes I did. He laughed and said of course. (A better picture of the ring to follow in the next post.)
After about 10 minutes of shock and shaking, we headed back to the boat because the sun was going down. We hopped back on and realized that the tide had gone out and the boat was stuck. Jimmy had to push and push to get it out of the sand and then we headed back to the dock. The whole ride back was like another blur. I couldn't believe what had just happened. I was 21 years old and engaged to the nicest guy in the world! My mind raced....we've only been dating for 6 months... When would we get married....What kind of dress did I want...Who would be my bridesmaids? I pushed all those thoughts aside and we went out to celebrate (ha ha) at Carrabba's, one of my favorite restaurants. We had a lot to talk about and plan, but for right then, I was going to relish in the moment.
I have a picture of us when we got back from the island, but it was taken by someone else and given to me as a hard copy. I don't have a scanner,so I can't share that photo here, but I will share some of our professional engagement photos and engagement party photos. Pro pics courtesy of Dale Williams Photography.
