Wait what?! Yes, that's correct! I'm engaged! I've unfortunately been so busy every since that day preparing for school and moving in to my house that I haven't had a chance to give the details to everyone. So, here's the story.
A few days ago, maybe a week, my best friend Sonja (you can find her blog here) sent a FaceBook message to me, Jordan and her fiancé, Stephen, asking if we wanted to go on a picnic in the gardens of the Indianapolis Museum of Art. Everyone responded positively and so we all began discussing what time worked for each of us and who would bring what food. Unbeknownst to me, the three of them had a separate FaceBook conversation from which I was excluded discussing how to pull off a suprise proposal.
So on Tuesday the 20th of August, Jordan and I set out for the IMA. We had met at about 4:30 that afternoon with the plan of meeting up with Stephen and Sonja at 6:30. Unfortunately (for Jordan) we sped through our grocery shopping and other errands and at 5:30 I suggested that we go the gardens early and walk around. I, ignorant of what the night held, didn't realize that I had messed up the plans by arriving early. Jordan, however, was obviously distracted and dishevelled. He kept checking his phone and furtively glancing around. Completely out of character, he became instantly decisive and authorative.
"Let's go down these steps and around that group of trees and then up the road by the back of the museum. There's a really cool bridge there. You'll like it."
"But then we'll miss all the flowers."
"We'll walk through those later after Stephen and Sonja get here."
I conceded. And the bridge was sort of cool ;)
As Jordan and I meandered our way around the outside of the gardens back to the parking lot, I received a text from Sonja saying that "traffic was really bad" and that they would be late. "Typical". I muttered. Needless to say, that was part of the plan. Sonja and Stephen would send me a late text while actually setting themselves up in some bushes for secret photographing.
Though they were "late", Jordan and I decided to set up anyway and wait for them so we grabbed the blanket and food out of the car and began to walk back toward the gardens. It was only after the whole affair that Stephen and Sonja told me that we all nearly ran in to each other. This picture was snapped right after they ducked behind a tree. Paparrazzi at it's best.
We got to the picnic area, just south of the Lily house, and J began spreading the blanket on the ground. I was still upset that Stephen and Sonja were late and was looking around fervently for them saying, "I bet traffic wasn't actually that bad!"
In order to get me to stop looking around Jordan nonchalantly handed me a leather journal that had been wrapped in the picnic blanket. "This is something I put together this summer when I was bored." I opened the journal to the first page which read "Ellie and Jordan's Adventure Book" (I almost teared up when I saw the UP reference). I flipped through to find pictures of all of our "adventures" and cut outs of maps of the places we want to go. A letter was tucked into the last page of pictures.
I read the letter, savoring all the references to this past year apart and of our mutual hope for a future together. As I moved to the second page of the letter I went to give Jordan a hug and my hand felt his heart beating the fastest I had ever felt it. Before that moment I hadn't an inkling of a clue, but then I knew. I skimmed over the last paragraph of the letter and saw the final sentence "So Miss Elizabeth Glorioso, I have a question for you . . ." When I looked back, he was kneeling in front of me with a ring. "So I do have a question for you" he continued. "Will you marry me?" I burst into a puddle of tears and forgot to answer. Finally, after being prompted . . .
I said "yes".
