LOL. The title is enough to make me laugh every time I think about it, talk about it or hear it. Why? Because that’s how Greg proposed to me in December of 1997. Yep, it was a result of a minor disagreement (OK, it was a quite large disagreement) in the RA (Resident Advisor) Office in West Ambler-Johnston Hall on the magnificent Virginia Tech campus.
It was the Friday that everyone was going home for winter break. We were still there, because we both worked as RAs and we had to stay an extra night to close the building down. You know, check all the dorm rooms on our floor to make sure that the mini fridges were unplugged and that no one left any candles burning that would cause us not to have a room to return to in January.
I must back up a little and provide some fun insight into our now almost 25 years of being together (well, minus those several months that we broke up, but were still sorta dating…Greg’s fault obviously.
We first meet at an after-party (Football) on November 4, 1995. My best friend, Kate, was visiting from Longwood University. Kate and I were standing near the drink table, and I was looking to see if the guy we were supposed to meet up with had arrived yet when all of a sudden this random guy came up to us and started telling us about the flat tire he had that day. My initial reaction was and why do I care? That was my first interaction with my future husband.
Later that night my friend Kate told me that I was going to marry him. Him? I didn’t even know his name and thought he was crazy! There was no way. I now hang my head in shame that I ever doubted her. I swear she must be psychic or clairvoyant. Ironic that she majored in Psychology now that I think about it.
Fast forward a little more, that guy I was supposed to meet up with at the party turned out to be one of Greg’s friends. Small world! Well, as the weeks passed, Greg and I got to interact more through mutual friends. We ended up eating lunch together with about 12 of our closest friends and “camped out” for VT football tickets together. Needless to say, our friendship grew, and nothing ever came about with me and that other guy.
By junior year, we were head over heels in love. But that night in the RA office, Greg was telling me that we wanted to apply to be an Orientation Leader for the summer. My insecure little self flipped out! I wouldn’t really be able to see him because Tech had overnight freshmen orientations, and I didn’t like the idea of him spending the entire summer with all those cute, bubbly female orientation leaders. I just knew that there would be someone better than me that would sweep him off his feet. He asked if I would feel better if we were engaged. Probably?
“FINE! Let’s just get engaged!”
We had talked about getting married before, so it’s not like it was completely out of the blue but it was still surprising. Since we had talked about marriage, we both knew that we’d be getting engaged at some point probably before the end of that school year, but I don’t think either of us planned this would be how the engagement would come about.
“Really?”
That was my response. One little world.
“Sure. Why not?”
Was Greg’s uber romantic response. It was like we were just having a regular conversation. But it was perfect to me. It ended our fight, and we calmly finished our tasks of checking rooms for break. The next morning we packed up our stuff we needed for break and drove home. Ironically enough, although I didn’t meet Greg until November 4, 1995, our homes away from school were only 20 minutes apart. He attending and played football for a high school that played my high school every year, where I was a cheerleader. We find it adorable that we were at some point in the same place for the same event and didn’t even know it.
Greg dropped me off at my house before driving the 20 minutes to his house. Just like any other trip home from school. I didn’t have a car, so Greg kindly toted me around wherever I asked him to. This is Saturday now, December 20, 1997. We talked that night, like we did every night, on our telephones… that were cordless, but still attached to a base that—GASP—plugged into the wall. We were notorious for talking for HOURS on the phone when we were home. There was no texting, FaceTime, Marco Polo, etc. We’re “old,” remember?
The next day, Greg drove to my house and we spent the day together. We went to the mall, did some last minute Christmas shopping, bought an engagement ring, had lunch, and hung out at my house. Yep, that’s right! Greg talked to his mom later that afternoon from my house:
G Mom - “What did you guys do today”
Greg - “Did some shopping, bought an engagement ring, had lunch.”
G Mom - “You did what?!”
Yeah, I’m pretty sure everyone in the both houses heard that. Apparently no one believed us at first. Naturally, it wasn’t very long after that conversation that Greg and I were in his car heading to his house to prove to his mother that we were indeed officially engaged.
Our parents were happy for us, but there was some concern that we were “too young.” Well, 17 months later, 7 days after we walked across the stage and became Virginia Tech graduates, we shared our vows.
And, here we are 21 years later.
Sometimes, you just know you are meant to be with someone. That you found that person who completes you, balances you, gets you, tolerates you. My lesson learned here is that yes, I was 18 when I met him and we were young, but we respected each other and what it meant to be married. As a result, we have worked hard to never lose sight of the importance of each other, the love we have for each other, and how much it’s worth the work it takes to make it work. We’ve always had a flare for doing things in our own way, and it’s always worked for us.
We live in a world that is based on images. SnapChat, Instagram, Facebook. It’s all about the presentation, being over the top, outdoing those that have done it before. It’s a world with a bigger is better mentality. But, how often do those relationships and marriages end in divorce and heartache? In the end, it doesn’t matter how extravagant something is or how much money is spent on it, it’s simply about the people involved. Two decades later, we like to think that we have our priorities in the right place - on US and what works for US.
FOOTNOTE: Greg never did apply to be an Orientation Leader. That summer before senior year, we did stay in Blacksburg for the summer though. Greg ended up working with summer conferences for Tech, I worked at a summer camp in town, and we spent our evenings making little birdseed packets for our wedding.
Awwwww......so so sweet 🥰🥰