I understand what you're saying @rok-sivante.

Even though I have an incredible example of what a happy faithful marriage is between my own parents, I have never really had a deep interest in being married or feel that being single would be a problem for me.

It took some moments in your life (whatever you believe personally, I don't think "coincidence" can cover all that has happened to get you and your fiance together) of great reflection and extraordinary circumstances to get you to this point.

I'm open to the idea of marriage, but getting married just out of fear of being alone seems like a foolish endeavor to me.

"live each day as though it were your last,"

Is something I may consider adding visibly to my body as a tattoo (I have two that are only visible when I want them to be). I do want to make the most of my time on this earth.

Sometimes we focus so much on death, like when a loved one nears their final resting place, but other times we feel invincible.

As casually as we toss around "See ya later," we never know if that statement will ring true and we will see that person alive again. Very few things are certain in life, but death is one of them.

I'm excited to see what path you and your wife embark on together as you grow as a married couple. I don't think your wife is on here, (unless I missed her posts) but I'd love to hear her version of the proposal you made and what went on in her mind as I'm sure she must have had some interesting feelings and questions that arose. Maybe you could write her thoughts in a follow up story or she could try writing herself, but I would definitely be interested in hearing her perspective on that time in your lives.

You write with such depth and honesty and I really appreciate that. You don't paint yourself as anyone above anyone else. You tell it like it is, flaws and all. There's a lot of bullshit in the world of people trying to write flowery prose and make everything happy, but that's a pipe dream. Life has ups and downs, and I think you have a unique ability to capture it in your writing.