Kate and I got engaged this weekend. We went out to Coyote Point Park, on the way to San Francisco, and visited the wildlife pavilion, where I knelt down, asked her to marry me, and presented her with the ring. She said yes, and I stood up and held her.
We thought and talked about the idea for a few weeks, and then we started looking at rings, online and in catalogs. As we grew more serious, we started visiting jewelry stores. Then, last Friday, Kate came to me and showed me a ring she'd found on a jewelry store's webpage. ``That's the one?'' ``That's the one.''
We drove to the store, looked at it, picked out a diamond, and ordered. We spent Friday and Saturday calling family and close friends to tell them all about it. On Sunday, we picked up the ring and drove out to the park to make it formal. It was Oct. 26, coincidentally one year to the day after we'd met.
We don't have a date set for the wedding yet. Kate wants to wait until her Ph.D. qualifying exams are over, about a year from now. After that, we'd probably wait until summer, which would place it in mid-2005. No rush. Kate's sister is already making preparations, though, even inquiring possible venues about availability.
My words to Kate in the park were, ``Kathryn Waffle, over the last year, you have made me happier than I ever have been before. I love you. Will you marry me?'' That's just the way I feel. Here's to many happy years ahead!