AT LAST!

Our story begins on February 16, though it goes without saying that the story of our engagement goes much further back than this. Faithful readers of this blog may recall that Matthew asked me to marry him as early as November (supposedly in jest, but YEAH RIGHT), and we both confessed to each other later that it really took approximately only three weeks from our first date in September for him to decide he loved me, and maybe another week and a half for me to come to the same conclusion. So there were many, many times in between then and February 16 when we had discussed the possibility (and later on, the inevitability) of our becoming a couple and raising a family and changing my last name to "Covington" (Squeeeal!) and so on and so forth (this was way back when we were thinking of getting married in August, or even December - the idea of getting married in May was too ludicrous to have even occurred to us). We had found our ring sizes at the mall one Saturday in January, and I had helped him pick out rings for both of us and made sure my dad was available for a chat sometime in early February, so I knew it was coming and soon. What I didn't know is what this post is going to be about.

So back to February 16. Matthew came to Sandy early and was waiting for me when I got home from work. He was excited about taking me out to eat in a real restaurant (we've only ever gone to Wendy's, Village Inn with his folks, and Chuck-a-Rama with mine), just the two of us, and had picked an Outback Steakhouse just a few blocks away since I told him I had never had steak (I'm gonna miss not being able to use that one in the "Never" game. Sadly, I can no longer win by saying "I've never read Harry Potter" either. At least I've still got "I never went to public school" to shock the crowd!).

I was worried about eating out and thought it would be crowded because surely most people would have wanted to avoid eating out on Valentine's Day and would have planned their schedules like us in order to eat out on a Wednesday night instead, right? Because that's when you'd THINK that it wouldn't be crowded, so you'd show up, all unsuspecting, and then BOOM! In the end, I decided that it couldn't hurt. At the best we'd get a good dinner, and at the worst I had the Sunday School example all worked out already and we could just save money by going to Wendy's (to be honest, the first thing that came to mind when Matt mentioned eating out actually WAS Wendy's... proof that I have no idea of what "eating out" refers to).

Buuuuuuuuut annnnywaaaaay.....

We got to the Outback Steakhouse, and it was most certainly not crowded. We got seated at a lovely corner table (the waitress almost led us into the middle arena where the BYU basketball game was playing, but somehow sensed that this wasn't the most ideal situation, and so endured some awkwardness by changing her mind and walking us out again) and got to munch on some delicious brown bread while waiting for our meals.

I don't remember talking all that much during the meal. We were both starving, and it was easy to focus on the delicious dinners in front of us (though we had to cover up the prices for fear of changing our minds and rushing out at once before taking a single bite) rather than on carrying on a conversation. I do remember wanting to document our first official "eating out" with pictures, thus embarrassing Matthew profusely and causing other people around us to hunch down in their booths to avoid being seen on camera. But it was worth it!

Behold! A meal fit for a king! Or at least, for a Covington!


Despite claiming to be satisfied by our complimentary two loaves of brown bread, we devoured our joint helpings of ribs, steak, a baked potato, vegetables, and fries, leaving a scant six bites or so of meat to take home. Not to mention the three free lemonades I got (he had to pay for his measly one glass of pineapple juice - ha!).


I kid you not - this plate was the size and shape of a UFO. Whaddya need tablecloths for?


The only picture of the two of us where I could get Matt to stop talking about how I needed to stop taking pictures and just SMILE, dangit!


When we got outside, the weather had taken a romantic turn. Throughout the day it had been windy, but not cold, and then it had turned slightly wet - sprinkling rain on me on my way home from work, and now snow. It was really beautiful - soft, white, quiet, picturesque, the perfect ending to a special day. I felt content and happy just standing outside and absorbing all the peace around me.

Of course, the cutie cleaning our car was a major distraction.

I love him.

We drove back to my house in Sandy, and I began gathering my things together to get out. But then Matthew started driving very slowly and then stopped the car very slowly outside the house.

Aha. I thought.

He asked if we could sit in the car for a while and talk. I agreed, but then we soon decided to switch from his car to mine, as there was a little more space and privacy (the windows hadn't been cleaned...wooooooooooo). He said he wanted to take me for a walk, but since I was cold and it was snowing, decided the car would have to do for an outdoor setting.

He then pulled out his mission journal and showed me that he had cut and pasted pictures of us and written down his version of our favorite dates (At Christmas I had supplied him with note cards describing my version of these favorite dates - these were also included in the journal). I started to cry at the beginning, but went all over the place from laughing to groaning to giving him "the look" (he knows which one I'm talking about) to just squealing with happiness at the cuteness of it all. At the end of the journal was a little segment on how much he was in love with me and how he was ready to end one part of his life's mission and begin another one with me, and then some musing on the idea of proposing, ending with "Maybe I should ask her..."

I was expecting him to whip out the ring that second, but he hesitated, saying something about it not being right that he couldn't kneel at a park bench. I dismissed the notion, but did want him to kneel anyway, so I offered my room as an alternative option. But being Matt, he had to surprise me somehow, and so, as soon as he had gotten out of the car, before I could follow, he turned around, knelt down in the snow, and pulled a black case out of his coat.

"Ruth....." (He took my hand)

"Will you marry me?"

(Brief pause as life flashes before eyes...)

"Yes."

We kissed first, I think, or maybe we put the ring on. Anyway, once the ring was on, my first impression was one of discomfort - it was thicker than I preferred - but I did think it was beautiful when I first saw it in the case. After wearing it for a couple of weeks now, I'm surprised how normal it feels and how little of an inconvenience it is to my everyday life. Having never been one to wear any sort of accessory for more than an hour at a time - I even gave up wearing a watch because I kept taking it off and losing it - I had been warned numerous times how I would never be able to look at anything else or possibly even flex my finger for the first 72 hours or so. Fortunately, I've experienced very little difficulty. It fits snugly but I can get it off my finger anytime (except just after exercising - I swell up) if I wash my hands.

We decided to wait for that weekend to tell our families (though my family was like, "Duh, we knew," when I told them Saturday morning). This proved to be rather difficult, and we did end up telling a few people before our families, but no one was offended (I hope. If you were, don't tell me. I don't wanna know). And then the whole world (i.e. Facebook) found out Saturday midday. So it's official. We're getting married. We've moved our date from two years away (my idea - when we first started dating seriously in October) to the end of next year to August for sure to possibly July to all of a sudden dead-certain absolutely yes-confirmed by temple appointment-May 28th at 9 am.

The future Mr. and Mrs. Matthew Covington. It's comin'.