We got back to Minnesota on Thursday, December 29. Since Alesha had passed the final test (that of meeting and surviving in the midst of my family), I knew it was time to get serious about this proposal thing.
I always had an idea of doing an elaborate proposal. Frankly, I think I would have been too nervous about getting everything to fall into place. My plans ended up being much simpler.
Step one was to call my dad. I respect his opinion more than anyone else's, especially when it comes to this sort of life-changing event. Unfortunately, I couldn't get in touch with him right away; he was on the road with Mom taking Michael and Aimee back to their broken-down car. After that, I was with Alesha's family on the 31st and 1st, so I didn't have a chance to call.
I called Dad the morning of January 2nd. I told him I want to propose to Alesha and "wanted to get his thoughts on that." Dad said that he and Mom had already talked about Alesha and I and that they liked her and had a good feeling about the two of us. I raised my concern about only dating her for 7 months. Dad said he felt we were mature enough to know what we wanted to spend the rest of our lives with. Being a good dad, he prayed with me before he hung up the phone.
One of the things that was important to me was to have the proposal be a suprise. I had already talked to Alesha about going out to dinner the night before, since we had only been with each other's families for the past several weeks. I told her to dress up, but I didn't tell her where we were going. (I had done this before when we went to the Capital Grille.) I went to citysearch.com and looked for romantic restaurants. W.A. Frost came up. I book a 6:15 reservation.
After talking to Dad, I let me roommate and her boyfriend know what had happened. Bother were dumbfounded, full of congratulations, and really liked the ring. They asked me what my plans were for the proposal. I pretty sheepishly told them that I really had no clue beyond dinner. We talked through some scenarios, including proposing at dinner (like Ryan's sister had been proposed to at the same restaurant 1½ weeks earlier) and carriage rides (which had ended yesterday). But I decided on his idea of doing it at Rice Park, across the street from the St. Paul Hotel. Mind you, I'd never actually been to Rice Park, but he said it was still beautiful with all of the Christmas lights still up.
Then came the part that I was dreading most (and probably the hardest part of the entire day): calling Alesha's father. The folowing is, to the best of my recallection, the conversation we had:
Tom: Hello?
Nick: Tom? This is
Nick. How are you?
Tom: Good.
Nick: Well, the reason I'm calling is that I'm planning to propose to
your daughter, but I wouldn't dream of doing it without asking you first.
Tom: ... Oh... Well that sounds good.
Nick: Okay. ... Well, if all goes well, expect a call soon.
Tom: Great! Thanks for calling.
Nick: Thank you.
Yes, it was as short and awkward as it sounds.
My next stop was Michael and Aimee's. I told them what was going on, and they were both excited for me. Michael's advise was to use Alesha's full name when proposing, and to stay out of Rice Park in the dark.
I had already planned to hang out at Alesha's all day; I stuck with the plan. I zipped the ring in the right pocket of my ARINSO jacket, and zipped the Mapquest directions in my left. I watched TV and played it casual until it was time to go to W.A. Frost's.
The restaurant was lovely. I've never had a course consisting of cheese before. Alesha ordered pheasant, and I had a big stack o'meat. We put our coats on and headed back to the car.
On the way out, I told Alesha that we had one more stop to make. I told her that I had heard of a place called Rice Park that was nearby and was really nicely lit up.
We got to the park, and it was gorgeous. But cold. I took her to a dry part of the park, with no snow on the ground. We stopped and hugged, and I kissed her. (By this time, my right jacket pocket was unzipped.) I told her I loved her and that I wanted to spend the rest of my life doing that.
As I got down on one knee and pulled out the box with the ring, her jaw dropped as she said "Oh my gosh!"
"Alesha Rae Moonen, will you marry me?"
"Of course yes!"
After that, we called our family and some friends. As you can tell, it was a pretty exhausting day!
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