Hello Steemians!

After 3 months of preparation, on Valentine's Day, I took my courage by both hands and asked The Big Question to my now future wife. Even though I am far from perfect, she said yes!

So now that I engaged myself to be with my chosen one for life, what better place then "The Blockchain" to put the story on? Also, I have some reflections I would like to share...you see, I wasn't always pro marriage and it was a long process for me to come to value this ritual that is the building block of civilization for millennia.

The Quest to Find The One Ring

My fiancée has been to a lot of weddings and also has a lot of friends who got engaged. I know that whatever the ring I would have find for her, she would have loved it and appreciate it BUT, there is a part of me that didn't want one iota of her to think that she should have helped me find it because she would have chosen differently.

I wanted to find her a stunner.

I've learned more that I would ever thought about rings and diamonds in the past 3 months leading to this day. I've learned the 4 C's of buying a diamond, shopped online for rings, asked her sister and friends to find a way to discover her ring size, discover her favorite shape, etc.

I wanted the ring to be timeless in elegance and an extension of who she is as a person.

Finally, I settled on a ring that had to be prepared by a jeweler in a artisan shop close to where I live.

The Big Night

In January, I started to sense that my now-fiancée was ready for me to pop the question. I could have chosen any night but somehow Valentine's Day seemed like the perfect fit. I have never been too enthusiastic about Valentine's Day in the past to be honest. I felt like that day kind of "forced" people to express their love. I didn't want that. I wanted that day to have a special meaning in our marriage. I wanted to be the day we celebrate the night that I asked her to be my wife.

So I've brought out the big guns. I have, with some help from @grandpere, installed hundred of tea lights trail starting from the door all the way up in the kitchen where I would propose.

When she walked down the steps, I sang Annie's Song by John Denver before I went down on my knees and asked her to marry me.

After a few seconds of silence, she finally was able to have a yes come out of her mouth. We hugged and kissed and I was ecstatic. Then the next song started called Your Love Lifting Me Higher by Jackie Wilson...I led her to the patio door and then FIREWORKS started (thanks @grandpere ! )

We then went for a nice romantic dinner at the restaurant to finish the night.

Symbols Have Meaning

For many people, including me a few years ago, an engagement was simply a ring and a marriage was only a fancy party with a piece of paper. But now that I'm in it, it means much much more.

Whether we like it or not, what shapes our reality is the meaning we attach to our experiences. On that night, when I asked my fiancée to marry me, I made a decision that this person was the one I wanted to be with for the rest of my life. It's not a trivial decision and much vetting has occurred on both side to come to that decision.

Now, every time I see that ring, I am reminded of that commitment and of how lucky I am.

Personal Narrative and Marriage

Psychologists have found that just like all good stories, the coherence of our personal narratives matters and the more coherence our life story has, the greater our sense of well-being.

To anyone who's interested in getting their assumptions around dating, marriage and sex challenged, I invite you to read this article by the Art of Manliness called: How Delaying Intimacy Can Benefit Your Relationship

I can attest to the validity of what is proposed above. When I'm looking back on the story that I share with my fiancée, it is full of meaning and it just "makes sense". Knowing that our story follows a coherent story line that naturally progresses from first encounter to marriage and then to intimacy provides an amazing sense of well being that is hard to describe. I can't wait to grow old with her next to me.

Conclusion

I'll do my best to document our story here as it unfold on the blockchain. Right now I'm realizing that something big is coming and that we need to plan our marriage...so I might have some interesting content around that topic!

Steem On!