Speechless

Only on very few occasions have I had trouble finding my words, but since Saturday (Christmas Eve) I have been rendered speechless and have yet to fully recover. At this point, other than walking around in stunned (and very happy) silence, I mostly find myself uttering things like “cool” and “awesome”.  And that’s giving it all I've got.

While I continue to run the situation over and over in my head, and take the time necessary to process it, this is what I can offer you:

On Saturday afternoon, on top of Turtlehead Peak in Red Rock NCA, Joe asked me to marry him.

I said yes. Easy question.

He caught me off guard, and I still haven’t quite accepted that this isn’t just a really super awesome dream that I will soon wake up from. The whole thing was so beautiful, and if I could have planned my own proposal it would have been exactly the way Joe executed it. We had a nice slow morning at home before heading out to Red Rock. There were a lot of people around, but not many going up Turtlehead. It was the perfect day for a hike, with great weather and clear views. Up at the top we were quickly joined by another couple, so Joe suggested that we go off to the side for more privacy. I had no problem with this because as a general rule I don’t like other people. Then, after several minutes of enjoying the spectacular views that Turtlehead Peak allows, Joe stood up and proposed. He said the most wonderful, kind things before asking if I would marry him, and after verifying that there was indeed a ring in the box and I hadn’t misheard, I gave him a hearty yes. We stayed on top of the mountain for a long time; it was perfect up there and I didn’t want to ever leave such a perfect moment. Also, I knew that I would have to take off the ring for the climb down and that didn’t interest me at all.

Two full days later, and I’m still not able to express all the feelings swirling around. There are a lot, to be sure, ranging from good to super awesomely great. As time goes by, my surprise and awe will give way and excitement will take over as primary emotion. From that point I’m sure it will be easier to make sense of all the goings-on inside me. But for now, I’m relishing in the raw-ness of the moment and trying my hardest not to forget a single detail of Saturday afternoon—the most perfect moment in an exceptionally good life.

Playing the piano together after getting
engaged.