Will You Marry...

I was nervous. I could feel the butterflies in my stomach, and I’m sure I was acting a little strange. Ashley and I had just finished a nice meal at a Broadmoor restaurant, and now we were circling the lake out back. I had the ring in my pocket, and I was waiting for the right time to stop our romantic stroll, get down on a knee, and ask her to spend the rest of her life with me.

I think she could tell I was nervous. We continued to walk around the lake in the blistering cold as I tried to locate the courage to ask the most important question of my life. At the same time, I realized I better get on with it because it was freezing and Ashley’s lips were about to turn blue. If I hadn’t dropped to my knee quick, she may not have been able to understand my proposal through the chattering of my teeth. I’m convinced she thought I was crazy as I asked her, “You up for one more lap?” She miraculously agreed.

We had nearly finished another lap when I finally paused and got down on my knee. There was no turning back now. I looked into her beautiful blue eyes, confessed my deep love for her, and said, “Ashley, WILL YOU MARRY ME?”

Pure giddiness. That’s what we experienced as we stood by an old fashioned lamp post which had been beautifully decorated with Christmas lights. I had actually picked a good spot after all of the stalling. We hugged, kissed, and did the happy dance as we celebrated our new status: engaged. The only time we could take our eyes off each other is when we stopped long enough to admire the ring. We spent the next several months planning the wedding and dreaming about the days ahead.

It’s been 5 years and 17 days since that snowy December night. Our lives have significantly changed, but I’m still crazy about her. God has since blessed us with two wonderful daughters, Avery and Sophie. Words can’t describe the joy they bring us, but, as all parents know, raising young children requires hard work.

We dressed them up last night in matching dresses—ok, Ashley dressed them up in matching dresses—and we headed for the Broadmoor to meet my parents for a Christmas dinner. We enjoyed a wonderful meal at the Tavern, grabbed some warm coffee to go, and once again headed for the romantic lake behind the main building. It was just as romantic as I remembered it being. Soft music playing over the speakers, hundreds of trees precisely decorated with lights, and geese on the lake. I decided it would be a good idea to show the girls the exact spot where I had proposed to their momma. Avery initially thought it was a good idea as she said, “Alright!”

We had walked about a hundred yards in the cold air before Sophie started screaming. Shortly after, Avery tripped on the sidewalk, spilled her hot chocolate, and started crying as well. They both wanted to turn around, but I was a man on a mission. We were going to make it to the proposal spot whether we all turned to icicles or not.

I continued to push ahead, and I found myself smiling as I thought about the vast difference between the two December nights at the Broadmoor Lake. The romantic music had given way to crying babies. We weren’t walking hand in hand with Ashley’s head on my shoulder; I was speed walking twenty yards in front of her grunting as I carried Sophie in her car seat. Ashley wasn’t making googley eyes at me; she was wiping the tears from Avery’s cheeks and covering them with kisses.

I arrived at the proposal spot first, nearly out of breath, and I glanced back to make sure Ashley and Avery hadn’t bailed on my idea. I watched them slowly make their way towards the infamous lamp post, and I thought, “Oooh how her life has changed!”

I was watching Ashley do something that I have seen countless times over the past few years. She was thriving in her role as a mom. She was patiently caring for her daughter. This is who she is, and this is what she does. Little did she know it five years prior, but she wasn’t just saying “YES” to a life of romance with this hunk of a man (work with me here), but she was also saying “YES” to a selfless life of being a momma—sleepless nights, changing diapers, cleaning up throw up, comforting, teaching, correcting, and loving unconditionally. It’s exhausting work. It’s challenged her at the deepest level, but she’s met the challenge with astounding grace.

Ashley eventually arrived at the infamous spot, and I noticed that she still had those captivating eyes and almost blue lips that I had seen on the proposal night. I grabbed Avery and Sophie and got down on a knee in order to reenact the big event. Sophie’s screams were beginning to intensify, and Avery made it clear that the last thing she wanted to do was take a picture. Romantic? Hardly. Realistic? Absolutely.

“Will you marry…US?”

That would have been a truer question to ask.