love story

THE STORY...

i always knew i was going to marry her.

the proposal actually goes way back to more than 5 years ago. there was a period of time when i thought i had lost her. and i had gone back home to california, left with only my thoughts and perceived misery. there's this spot i always go to, just to be alone, do my QTs, or just to think. it's this barren cliff near my house that overlooks all of the san fernando valley. usually it's riddled with stones, dirt, and an occasional piece of trash (which i usually try to clear out.) but on this day, the day i thought i lost her, there was something else on the cliff. a single flower. this little yellow flower sprouting in the middle of what's basically a mound of dirt. it was a sign of hope, also a remembrance, that i lost her. so i just grabbed it...plucked it from the ground that it was born in, and took it home. i pressed the flower in an old dictionary and stashed it away. it was at that point i accepted that i may never be with her....and i decided to move on.

fast forward 3 years, both of us had our own paths. granted we were in the same school but our friendship was merely a hello and goodbye with underlying awkwardness from the past. we dated other people and grew during that time as well. but in the end, we were single...two pieces of the puzzle, not knowing that we fit.

the empire state building, a malaysian restaurant, a movie, and some hershey's kisses paved the way. and then it was January 22nd, 2001. the timing was perfect...we started to date. and on that day, i took out what was once lost...the single flower that was pressed in my red dictionary. i placed it in a wooden frame and gave it to her as a symbol that i got her back. that i didn't lose her afterall, that instead, i had her all along.

i always knew i was going to marry her.

so we dated and dated. and every single minute was amazing. from the trials and tribulation to the joys and laughters...every moment was important. at a certain point we were getting anxious. was marriage in the horizon? when can we start spending the rest of our lives together? and then me being a guy, i worried about the financial stability, the approval of parents, the commitment.

i have to admit, there were times when things were rocky, there were times we even doubted that God knew what he was doing. but all we knew is that we wanted to be with each other.

before we knew it, it was January 21, 2006. the day before what is to be our 5 year anniversary. i had spent 2 weeks working on a scrapbook looking back at 5 years of our relationship. now, you gotta understand, it's been years since i did anything arts and craftyish so me with a gluestick and scissors ain't a pretty sight. but i finally finished it the night before...it had dozens of movie tickets i had saved over the 5 years. every ticket to musicals we've been to. notes we passed to each other, pictures of us on various trips we took together, two pages dedicated to our dogs who are a big part of our lives. and as i sat there showing her the scrapbook i asked her to add little things in them.

i always knew i was going to marry her.

she pulled out old notes, drawings that i drew for her long ago. she helped glue in a musical ticket. we laughed at all the stuff we did. read some of the silly notes we passed to each other in class. and kept contributing to the scrapbook..until the last page.

the last page were two empty pages with just grass on it. "what should we put in here?" i asked. she looked around her room and pondered. then she thought of the framed flower. she resisted at first because she was afraid that the flower would break, but she eventually got up...grabbed the frame and sat down on her bed. she began to peel away the pegs that kept the back of the frame closed.

and as she opened it, she noticed a message written in ink on the inside of the frame.

"if you're reading this then we've made it this far...and i know we would. without much further ado, will you marry me? - please say yes!"

and underneath that, a date was inscribed....January 22nd, 2001.

i always knew i was going to marry her.

and she said yes.


on the very last page of the scrap book it reads:

"To God, who made all things possible."

Touching...isn't it? so sweet...hope i can meet a guy like this...