We met in the last year of High School. Dated for almost 4 years. Dated through first jobs. He ended up working for a newspaper, and I for a telecom company. We'd talked about the future and marriage but it was just not ever the right time. We weren't making enough money, we couldnt' find a place to live, etc. We'd even gone so far as to look at rings but couldnt' find anything we liked. We were 19 years old.
In the spring of the 4th year, he planned a picnic, I cooked the chicken, made salad and dessert. We went to the local park and picked a spot near the playground. We threw the frisbee around, me being totally oblivious to his anxious manner. We ate the picnic food, and sat talking. He then said he had a gift for me, and brought out a photo album. I opened it, and it was full of 'LOVE IS....' cartoons. He (which I didnt' know at the time) had cut out the cartoon each day for almost a year, framed them in decorative tape, and grouped them into meaninful pages. On the last page, he had placed the cartoon that said: "LOVE IS..... TOGETHERNESS", and cut a slot in the top of the page, into which he'd placed a ring. As I turned the page, he went down on one knee, and asked; Will you marry me?
The ring is a Marquise shape 1/4 carat white diamond, with a heart shaped jade on each side set in 18K white gold. It was and is gorgeous. He told me later, he had searched for and found a jeweler who would make the design he had in his mind. At the time, no one would put a semi-precious stone with a precious one. He told me that many jewelers refused to take the commission.
This was 32 years ago, and each time I relate the story, I still get chills. Nothing could have made me feel more cherished or loved than the effort he put into our proposal.
He has given me 'sparklys' in the intervening years, but none will ever create the joy I feel when I see this ring on my finger.
In the spring of the 4th year, he planned a picnic, I cooked the chicken, made salad and dessert. We went to the local park and picked a spot near the playground. We threw the frisbee around, me being totally oblivious to his anxious manner. We ate the picnic food, and sat talking. He then said he had a gift for me, and brought out a photo album. I opened it, and it was full of 'LOVE IS....' cartoons. He (which I didnt' know at the time) had cut out the cartoon each day for almost a year, framed them in decorative tape, and grouped them into meaninful pages. On the last page, he had placed the cartoon that said: "LOVE IS..... TOGETHERNESS", and cut a slot in the top of the page, into which he'd placed a ring. As I turned the page, he went down on one knee, and asked; Will you marry me?
The ring is a Marquise shape 1/4 carat white diamond, with a heart shaped jade on each side set in 18K white gold. It was and is gorgeous. He told me later, he had searched for and found a jeweler who would make the design he had in his mind. At the time, no one would put a semi-precious stone with a precious one. He told me that many jewelers refused to take the commission.
This was 32 years ago, and each time I relate the story, I still get chills. Nothing could have made me feel more cherished or loved than the effort he put into our proposal.
He has given me 'sparklys' in the intervening years, but none will ever create the joy I feel when I see this ring on my finger.
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