The Best Day of Our Lives

Maybe I've been able to help people on some level through my life, but I have never given anyone the best day of his or her life until January 23, 2016 on the day I proposed to my girlfriend.

By October of 2015, I knew she was getting a bit restless. Was this serious, or was she wasting her time? Things weren't always perfect, but I had made a conscious decision that I never wanted to lose her, and I only wanted to see her happy. We went engagement ring shopping at Tiffany's. The name itself is so respected, that I thought it would be a surefire success. Surprisingly she could not find anything that suited her. Now that we had been dating over a year, it was becoming easier to tell when she wasn't happy. At this point, I knew it was going to be a process. I wanted to do it right, and I wanted her to look back on the proposal with nothing but fondness and love.

I ate dinner with my parents soon afterward and told them I was planning on proposing. They were happy. I emailed her parents and asked for permission. They were thrilled.

She emailed me photos of rings she liked. I searched a few jewelers in the area, and eventually came across a place in Hyde Park that had something that appeared perfect to me.  It was the upper limit of what I was willing to spend, but I knew that I did not want to compromise or cut corners on the engagement ring. So I purchased a ring with a very nice oval shaped diamond. The stone was GIA certified with a D color category (perfect color) and I think maybe VSI (very small inclusions) quality level. I paid $5,900, and waited patiently 10 days for the stone to get fixed to a very nice titanium ring. It was a ring that was unique and nearly flawless. The diamond reflected the light in a way that was captivating and captured your attention and intrigue every time. I purchased the ring at the end of November just after Thanksgiving.

And then there was the waiting...

It was rare for us to have a weekend off together. The cold winter months threatened to make our commute from Cincinnati to Columbus potentially challenging. I was in India at the end of December for my cousin's wedding. I had a great time celebrating his wedding and meeting family. But at the same time I was struggling to determine how I was going to make our proposal special. I had thought about proposing in Columbus, but eventually I figured the familiarity of home in Cincinnati would work in my favor.

I watched a few episodes of How I Met Your Mother. Around the end of season 1, Ted Mosby hires a string quartet to surprise Robin in her apartment when he asks her out. Who does that?

I exchanged emails, and eventually hired a string quartet. I left them instructions to wait in my apartment at 4:30PM. I would knock on the door and they would start playing Air on the G String by Bach. She liked Taylor Swift and I like the Beatles, so I asked them to play those songs too.

Snow had hit Cincinnati on the Wednesday before the proposal. I was getting back from work around 8:30PM and was driving down a steep hill covered with a thin layer of snow. My little VW Rabbit slipped and I lost control. The car spun out and did a 180. Thankfully I was safe and no damage was done. Other cars drove around me. I breathed a sigh of relief and made it home safely. The forecast threatened for even more snow on the Friday before the proposal.

My anxiety climbed, and I spoke with her father. He wanted her to come Saturday to avoid the storm. I knew she would be upset, but on Thursday I told her to wait 1 more day. I needed more time, and I used the threat of snow as an excuse to cancel my clinic on Friday. It gave me time to buy roses, clean the apartment, and buy groceries. I purchased a nice Servatii's chocolate mousse cake in advance and had the baker write our names in icing. My parents picked it up.

I went in to work at the hospital Friday afternoon and was able to finish quickly. By Friday at 5PM, there was no snow in Cincinnati. The forecast was wrong. I called her father and asked for his permission for her to come sooner. He reluctantly consented, and she drove down Friday night. I had a nice taco dinner with red wine and dark chocolate waiting for her. She loved it.

On the day of the proposal, I asked her to wear something nice. I wore a tie which was unusual for me outside of work. She wore a white dress with a black cardigan sweater over it. We looked nice, I won't forget it. We went to lunch at the Rookwood in Mt Adams and had a nice salad and veggie burger. I managed to get a small grease stain on my tie. We still had 2 hours to burn before the 4:30PM surprise engagement. So we drove down to Newport Barnes and Noble and I read a headache book while she worked on coursework for residency. I went to the restroom and took one last look at myself in the mirror around 4PM. I was satisfied, and we drove back to my apartment. I told her I was tired and pretended like I was planning on taking a nap when we returned. My parents had let in the quartet and her parents to my apartment.

I knocked on the door to my apartment, and we were greeted by Bach Air on the G String just as planned. I brought her in and our parents came by. I picked up the ring and flowers from my bedroom which I had kept hidden. And then I got down on one knee. I opened the ring box, I think it was upside down so I flipped it. "You make me so happy, and I want to spend the rest of my lives together. Will you marry me?"

There was a minor grammatical error. I think no one noticed. I started to wish I practiced in front of a mirror. I think she said Yes. I couldn't hear her over the music, and I was so nervous I might have missed it. "I don't know what to do now." Neither did I.

I tried to slide the ring over her finger, but it got stuck at her proximal intercarpal phalangeal joint. I got nervous. Would we have to resize the ring? But she gave it a bit more gentle force and it fit perfectly. I gave her a hug and kiss. I hugged my mom and shook my dad's hand.

We all had a few drinks of water (her parents do not drink alcohol) and enjoyed the quartet's music some more. They played all of the well known pieces: Canon, Viva la Vida, and Claire de Lune. I looked over to her and she smiled. She said her heart was still beating 150 times a minute. She didn't seem like the type who would like surprises, it almost felt mean to spring this on her.

We drove back to my parents' house in West Chester where my mom had lovingly prepared a nice dinner for everyone. My sisters and her newly engaged brother and sister-in-law to be came to dinner as well. We celebrated and had a delicious meal. My brother in law who was working called to congratulate us.

My older sister drove me and her back to my apartment and congratulated me. My new fiance looked at me with wide eyes and smiled ear to ear. "You're the best!" She texted all her closest friends.

The next morning we went for a short and light workout session. We ate left over tacos and chocolate cake. She told me, "It was the best day of my life! Was it the best day of your life?"

All I had to do was say yes. "Well it's definitely in the top 5. I'd have to contemplate each of those days and compare them side by side to decide." (All I had to do was say yes). "I've had a few tasty donuts and well I've never given anyone the best day of her life before... Yes, yes it was the best day of my life."

"So the day you proposed to me wasn't as good as the time you ate a tasty donut?"
"No, it's just that I never thought about comparing the two."

Maybe it was the stress of preparing everything. The unpredictable weather, the fear of rejection, or the chance of getting pooped on by a bird or having my fly unzipped on accident led to a lot of anxiety leading up to it.

I have never given anyone the best day of her life before this. So yes, it was all worth it without a doubt. But I don't think it was the best day of our lives. I think it was the best day of our lives so far.