Marriage Story

So there we were at my folks' house for the weekend. I cared a great deal for Terry, but the thought of making a lifetime commitment was so overwhelming I didn't have the courage to do it. So I went to bed crying and praying. I finally ended up telling God that if He wanted me to say "I love you" to Terry, He was going to have to make me do it because I couldn't do it on my own.

Can I just say, God has a sense of humor. Apparently He knew how young and foolish I was and He took my prayer literally.

The next morning Terry came back over and we sat in the living room with my brothers (I had three of them) while my mom fixed breakfast. I do remember that she made monkey bread--excellent stuff and totally loaded with calories. (It's the details that make a story special, isn't it?) : ) A good night's sleep had gone a long way toward relaxing everyone and easing the emotional tension, and we laughed and joked until my mom called us to the table. My brothers scrambled out of the room quickly. I stood up to follow them, but Terry grabbed my hand and said, "Hey. I love you." I smiled back and answered, "I love you, too."

And then I clapped both hands over my mouth. What had I done? What had I said? Was it just a reflex response or did I really mean it? Was I really committing to this man for the rest of my life? But then again, hadn't I prayed that God would make me say it? Those words certainly hadn't come from me!

We sat there staring at each other for a moment, and then Terry asked cautiously, "Did you just say what I think you just said?"
Ever the coward, I pulled my hands away from my mouth and answered, "What do you think I just said?"
"You said 'I love you'." Terry has never been one to let me off the hook about anything.
"I guess I do," I told him. "I love you."

We both floated through breakfast, but then Terry disappeared for a while when we were through eating. I found out later that he'd gone down to my dad's office to ask for his permission to propose to me. He told Terry that he ought to wait until I knew for sure what I wanted, and was shocked to hear I had suddenly decided that I loved him. Deciding he would never understand the female mind, my dad said that if we were both sure than we had his blessing.

I think Terry wanted to seal the deal before I changed my mind again. But in spite of the rush, he wanted to do everything right. So while he had a girl that loved him and permission from her dad to propose, he didn't say anything else about it that weekend. Instead he planned carefully for a romantic proposal that I would be proud to blog about one day. (I'm sure that wasn't his goal, but hey, I am enjoying this.)

In the meantime, "I love you" came more and more easily for me. It took a month before we had another opportunity to head to my parents' for the weekend. Little did I know that Terry had been in contact with them quite a bit before then.

Next Monday covers the proposal, I promise! And the week after that I'll tell you a little bit of our story from Terry's side. (Don't worry, our memories match.) In the meantime, you can go here to read part one, part two, part three, part four, or part five.

This series is a part of this carnival. Go here to read some other fantastic love stories!