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“We cannot really love anybody with whom we never laugh.”

I can honestly say that I absolutely love Angie and her husband-to-be. And from the looks of things, it’s pretty obvious they are kinda smitten with one another as well.

I wanted to write something so prosaic and profound about my stunning friend and her beautiful relationship with this man she has been searching for and praying for years, but no words seemed to do them justice.

Instead, I am going to let Angie’s words of her engagement story do their own telling. (She has no idea I stole this from her Facebook page…well, I guess she does now…but I promise you, even thought it is long, you WILL want to read it….and you may even need some tissues. – Daniel, you are the Man!!)

It all started on the Friday of Memorial Day weekend. I was supposed to be having lunch with a friend, Michelle, and she picked me up at noon for our lunch date. She got me out of the office under the ruse that we were going to the “practice lunch” for a new restaurant opening up. She told me I’d need my ID so they could do the mock ID check for serving alcohol. After we’d been in the car for several minutes, and on the highway leading away from my office, I asked (probably for the second or third time) where this restaurant was. Finally she reached inside her bag and handed me a book of sorts wrapped in tissue paper. I couldn’t figure out why Michelle was giving me a present, but when I opened the book, I realized it wasn’t from her. The “book” was the leather journal I’d given to Daniel for his birthday last year, the one with my handwriting in the front. After I got over the shock and disbelief, Michelle told me to open to the first page, to read, and to follow the instructions implicitly throughout the entire journey. Journey?!

In the journal is now written Our Story. How and where we both grew up, how we both went through heartaches before meeting each other, and how we both know this is different and better than anything we’ve experienced. Mixed in with the sappy stuff, Daniel had written instructions for me to follow for the day. My first instruction: arrive at the Oklahoma City airport (!!!), retrieve the packed bags from the trunk, and use the cash in the envelope provided to check a bag, get lunch, and buy my obligatory travel magazines! I looked at my itinerary. Destination: Oakland, CA via Salt Lake City. (He’s flying me to San Francisco!!)

So I followed my instructions to the letter. Checked in, got lunch, read the next page, giggled with anticipation. (Okay, maybe that last one wasn’t on the list.) On my flight to Salt Lake, he’d even included a Word Search puzzle for me full of words that are funny to us, or that have some sort of meaning. T’was so much fun, for I love a good word game. (Nerd.) When I landed in Utah, my directions told me to find my next gate, get coffee, and continue reading the next chapter while I waited for my flight to board. Taking off, and while flying over the Great Salt Lake and snow-covered mountains, the first tears flowed as I looked down on the beauty of the day. Nature. Excitement. The love of a good man. And vacation!! I decided to write down my perspective of the day in the back of the journal for him to read later and enjoyed the rest of my two-hour flight into northern California with the airline’s “Cinnamon Biscotti”, which really should have been labeled as “Ginger Snaps”. (The two are NOT the same.)

Landing in Oakland, I made a stop and then went to the baggage claim area, which (to my chagrin) was empty, dark, and eerily calm. I had asked and was sure this was where I was to retrieve my bag. A minute later, a woman came behind me and asked if I was looking for my bag. I looked and immediately recognized the face of Daniel’s aunt Sheila! “I know you!” I exclaimed. We went to the counter and, strangely, they had my bag and were waiting for me to pick it up. Once we had it, she called her husband, Tony, who had been circling around. We got loaded in, talked a little about how my surreal day had been thus far, and they drove me an hour through traffic into the heart of San Francisco. We eventually arrived at the Palace of Fine Arts (http://www.palaceoffinearts.org/Rotunda_side.jpg)

From here, I was instructed to follow the white, paper hearts taped to the sidewalk down the path. I walked along the lagoon admiring the swans and about a dozen pair of lovers lounging on the lush grass surrounding us. There were children with ice cream cones, photographers, several languages, and lots of sunshine, although the temperature was only about 65 or 70 degrees. I couldn’t help but linger some, mainly to soak it all in. I knew what was coming and I wanted to savor these beautiful moments. Finally, the hearts veered off the path and into a grassy cove facing the main structure across the water. There was my Daniel, guitar strapped across his chest, with the biggest smile I’ve ever seen. I walked up to him, the directional journal still in my hand. He asked if he could sing a song for me; I asked if I could kiss him first. So, we kissed and he sang…in that order. The song was what he’d written for the event, and recapped the phrase of his I’ve loved since he first asked my permission to love me.

Afterward, we all drove to a lookout point and took some great photos with the Golden Gate Bridge and at a beach at sunset before our dinner reservations at The Cliff House.( http://www.cliffhouse.com/)

Daniel is the love of my life, and his lovely GRAND gesture only confirms that patience pays off

Angie, I am so thrilled you found the man of your dreams. It’s hard to believe anyone could ever deserve you; but Daniel, you come pretty darn close : )

Can’t wait to see you guys in October for the big day!!