Graeme David Swift was a boy who didn't exist in my mind 4 years ago and now he has taken this predominant place in my life. He has asked me to be his wife and I have said yes! This is the story of how he pulled off the most amazing surprise.
Graeme started writing me very specific letters about 2 months ago. Each with their own words of affirmation, things he saw in me that he felt drew me to him, moments that had made him fall in love with me. Each Friday one of my coworkers and I would make the trek to the post office and open that PO Box with such great delight to find a Laura Ashley stationery letter waiting there just for me. They were 8 fantastic Friday's. Until the 9th Friday came and no letter. Graeme said he was sorry, but he mailed this one a bit late and it would arrive shortly. So Monday came and went, Tuesday came and went, Wednesday came and went...by this point I just decided to wait for a few days before going back...so I stayed busy. Another Monday came and went and by this point Graeme was at a conference and super busy, so I knew there was no real chance of getting to talk to him and see possibly where this letter went missing...my guess was it was somewhere in the Pacific ocean ;)
Tuesday was a super busy day and I never made it to the post office, which made me hopeful for Wednesday. I woke up that morning a little bit behind schedule...I just couldn't seem to get out the door and I kept second guessing my choices, but by the time I left the house I had cleaned it up a bit, showered, had breakfast, and was ready to start my day of work. Mind you also, I had plans to go to a sweet lunch with my boss and play "hooky" the rest of the day with her, so it only added to the excitement of my day.
Work was crazy and I was busy most of the morning and at around 12:30 my boss comes to find me (as I was away from my desk) and she puts her arm through mine (which seems odd) and says she needs to show me something and then as we approach our aisle of cubes she says, "your friend is here". And there stands my roommate in my cube with a change of clothes, a letter, and a sly smile on her face...I go white. I know exactly what she is doing here and I can't believe today is the day. The sneaky girl! We had just talked last night...we had made plans this weekend...a girly weekend...and here she stands with that letter! As she hands me the letter she explains that I need to change and that we are headed to where Graeme is waiting. I start to go into shock. So I open the letter. I read the words on the page and I begin to cry silently. I still can't believe today is the day and I can't believe he is here. He is somewhere close, waiting for me.
So through all the chaos of my department finding out today was the day (a bet was going on when he would show up) I get changed and Sarah and I leave. As we walk to the car she explains that she is going to drive around for a bit, because there is another surprise waiting in the car. As I open the passenger door there sits a hard bound book with pictures of Graeme and I on it. As I begin to read I realize it is a book filled with all the things he has come to know and love about me. The little things that make up me. We, over the years have exchanged hundreds if not thousands of emails and in these emails we have a question section and he had taken many of my responses to these questions and placed them in a creative manner into this book. He captured a piece of us and it was classic. The last page said..."I have one more question to ask you..." and I turned the page and there was the large word "soon" typed out. It has been his typical response the last few months whenever I asked him if he was coming. All I would ever get was the response, "soon". I hated the word soon. Today, I could not have been more happy to see it.
Sarah had been watching me read through the book and at some point headed for the direction of where Graeme was hiding out. When I realized the direction she was headed in I knew where he was. It was a park that he and I had walked to his second night here on his first trip out. We had talked for probably 4 or 5 hours on the swings, just catching a tangible glimpse of who each other was. He didn't know this at the time of the proposal, but it was probably the last place that I was unsure of how I felt for this guy, so it was fitting that it would be the place he asks me and I am so sure.
When we arrive Sarah pulls up and I get out of the car. Graeme is already walking toward me and I can't believe it is actually him, when this whole time he was supposed to be at conference! We hug for what seems to be ages and he takes my hand and walks me to the swing set. He sits me down and gets down on one knee. He says a lot of wonderful things that I don't remember, but because he knows me so well he wrote them down, so I would be able to look back on what he said! And then he asked me to marry him, which of course I said yes!
I can't believe it is him. I can't believe my travels through puppy love, infatuation love, to a true choice of love has lead me to this spot in life with this incredible man. When I get asked if he is my dream guy I say no, because he is far better. My dream guy to be honest didn't have much of personality...he was pretty flat and unrealistic. Graeme meets me where I am at. When I am having a rough day and trying to explain myself it seems as though he is already on the other end of my explanation just waiting to be present however I might need him. He has already made an incredible best friend and is going to make an incredible partner in this life.
Off on our first "official" dress up kind of date! All in all it made for a pretty sweet and memorable Wednesday!
