a surprise engagement!

Well the exciting news is that Sean and I got engaged over the Christmas holiday! And as for calling it "a surprise engagement," I mean that quite literally as it was a surprise to the both of us! The story:

We drove up to Ohio last week to visit all of my extended family and for Sean to meet most of them for the first time. We arrived at my grandparent's house and I think they were both more excited to see Sean than to see me! They'd only met him once before at my college graduation about three years ago. We talked and they asked about our future plans and if we were engaged and we gave our usual answer of "No, not really, not officially, we might as well be, but no." They both looked disappointed, my grandfather looking quite mad actually.

Later that night my grandmother said she wanted to talk to Sean and I in her room. So we followed her in, scared to death that we were going to get a lecture on "living in sin" and such. She closed the door and told us to sit on her bed, so we sat, our stomachs dropping. She fumbled around a bit, saying she was embarrassed to ask and afraid of stepping on Sean's toes in case he was planning something himself, but that she and Grandpa had talked about it for a long time and wanted me, as the oldest granddaughter, to have her mother's ring for our engagement, a family heirloom from the 1920s. She wasn't sure when to ask but was afraid she wouldn't get another chance to do so because of her age. Sean said he was fine with it because he doesn't have the means to ask right now. I said I didn't mind either, of course. So she gave the ring to him and he put it on my finger and then the three of us stood in a circle, hugging and crying and laughing about what nerds we are!

Seriously though, it means a lot to me to know how much both Sean and I mean to my grandmother for her to do something like that, especially as she's only met him twice. I don't think I'll every forget what she told us... So, it's not a "normal" engagement story but it's fun and it's different and it's ours. And so we're engaged! Officially! Finally!

Oh, and I absolutely love the ring and think it's absolutely beautiful! It's basically exactly what I've always wanted but wouldn't have known unless I saw it, you know? I love how detailed it is and that it's different and old and has a history. And it fits perfectly!

Source: Andrea Despot