It all started one lovely Saturday morning on August 28th, 2010...
...but first, I guess I should give you a little of the back story...
I had had a pretty rough week the week before and was disappointed that I wouldn't be seeing Jordan at all the next week either due to a business trip he had and a trip to Canada that I was going on for some friends' wedding. We had been talking about it earlier that week and he suggested that I take the coming Saturday off for a "mini-vacation" with him to de-stress and spend some quality time together before our trips. Honestly, it all seemed very spontaneous and it never crossed my mind that he might propose that day... but that's part of the reason this is such a good story. :)
The only things he told me about our "trip" on Saturday was that:
- We'd be outdoors,
- We needed to try to beat traffic to wherever it was we were goingand
- It was going to be good weather for a picnic
Well, somehow my phone died in the middle of the night which meant my alarm didn't go off in time... so much for beating traffic. I managed to only put us about half an hour behind "schedule" and Jordan got time to bond some more with my dad while he waited :) So funny - looking back now I realize how excited my dad was. He was up so early to see us off and stood there and waved while we drove away :)
Once in the car he told me that he'd originally planned something else for the day, but he just wanted to make this day really special so he changed plans last minute and decided to take us to DC for the day.
Side note: DC is where we had our first date and where Jordan told me he loved me for the first time. So it's a really special place for us. We hadn't been back there together since then.
Now.... I know somewhere in the back of my mind I wanted to think, "Huh, I always thought we'd come back here when he's going to propose or something." BUT... I didn't. :) I was so happy to just be with him and on this "vacation" - getting engaged just never crossed my mind that day.
On the way to the metro he also mentioned that he just found out there was some rally with Glenn Beck and Sarah Palin going on today, but it was at the Lincoln Memorial and hopefully it wouldn't be too crowded if we just steered clear of there. (Hence the need to beat traffic).
Well... we were wrong - there were like a million people there Haha. They stretched all across the mall as far as you could see. I didn't mind though - I was still with my boyfriend and there was even room by the fountains for us to sit and talk. And that's just what we did :) We sat and reminisced for a bit, but Jordan seemed a little bit quiet to me. I was wondering if maybe he was upset about there being so many people there that day or something.
Later he told me that he was just really anxious to get on with the day so he could propose haha!
After a while, he asked if I was ready for our picnic lunch. Since I hadn't eaten breakfast, I was definitely ready! We started walking and looking for a nice, shady place that was away from the crowds. Jordan said something about not bringing a blanket so we would need to find a bench to sit on. (Really he did that on purpose so he could get on one knee when he proposed :P tricky man!) I was too hungry to really care about a bench and definitely got hungrier each time we passed a picnic spot up simply because it had no bench. Somewhere along our "ten-mile hike for a picnic bench" (Ok, not really haha) he ever so casually mentions, "Oh yea, I have a surprise for you at lunch." So I'm thinking... he has a diamond in his pocket, right? NO. Haha, I thought maybe he brought cheesecake for dessert... yep... just thinking about the food! :P
We finally wander over towards the Jefferson Memorial. To me, it looked like the perfect picnic spot. We were a little bit off the normal trail so there weren't too many people around and the view was great. The monument to the left, a pretty bridge over the water, and shady trees all around. But of course - no bench. I could tell Jordan was about to keep walking, but I was so hungry. I just wanted to eat already! Haha! I suggested we just sit on the grass, but he kept making these funny excuses like he didn't want to get my pants dirty or "What about the bugs?". I finally talked him out of the bench - poor guy - and we sat on the grass while he unpacked delicious sandwiches and fruit and pasta salad and for dessert...candy bars? Where's the cheesecake surprise, I wondered? Haha - little did I know!
When we finished eating, he asked if I was ready for my surprise. :) He said since next week was gonna be hard since we'd be away from each other that he really just wanted to do something special... so he thought today would be a good day to show me... THE LIST.
The List:
This is a list that Jordan has been making practically since we met. Anytime one of us thinks of something we want to do together (see a sunset on the beach, go skydiving, learn Spanish, go to the Zoo, etc.) he would add it to this List. BUT he would never, ever show me this list, no matter how much I begged or pouted Haha.
So, today he decides is the right day to show me :) Now... IKNOW somewhere in the back of my mind I thought, "Funny... I kinda thought he would propose with this list someday..." But lucky for Jordan, someone took her "Clueless and Oblivious" pills that morning.
It was fun reading through the whole list. We took our time and reminisced on the ones we'd already checked off and he explained some of the new ones that I had never heard him talk about before. We finally read through the whole thing... all SEVEN pages of it! :) And as I started to fold it up he says that there should be one more page and starts looking for it like he can't find the last page or something. I can't quite figure out how he could have lost the last page, but as I'm asking him if he's sure there another one, he pulls one more piece of paper out of a different pocket. Now I'm thoroughly confused about how that one got separated from the others, but he just gives it to me to read and says, "It's the list for things to do today."
That didn't quite fit with the other list, but my clueless pills were still going strong, so I unfolded it and began to read... as Jordan starts to fiddle with something in yet ANOTHER pocket...
"The List for August 28, 2010 :)" (Sounds so formal)
- Get up early (check)
- Drive to metro (check... why are these things on the list?)
- Go to first date spot
- Picnic lunch
- Present list (Check, check, check)
- Ask Jessica Danae Woo to marry me and be with me forever :) (WHAT?!?!?)
Oh my gosh, did my heart start pounding! It's pounding again even as I write this and remember :)
For one quick second I thought (this is a REALLY cruel joke!). But he didn't give time for that thought to linger. He popped up on one knee(even without the bench) :) and ... well... neither of us can really remember exactly what he said. I was thinking (Oh my gosh! Oh my gosh! Oh my gosh!) And he was thinking, (Don't mess up! Just get to the question!) Haha! But I do remember the question. :)
"Will you be my wife?"
"YES! Oh my gosh, YES!!!!" :)
It was the most beautiful, wonderful moment of my life. :)
I think it took me the rest of the day to come out of shock. I couldn't believe he surprised me so completely. I always thought I'd suspect it to some degree, but I had no idea until the very moment he pulled out the ring.
Which, by the way, IS GORGEOUS!
Absolutely stunning.
I never told him anything about what I wanted in a ring -mostly because I didn't know myself. But even if I had, he couldn't have picked a more perfect ring. I still can't stop looking at it to this day.
AH! We're engaged! :) :) :)
Two months later, and I think I'm still on Cloud 9. :)
So the wedding plans are now well underway. The date is set for March 12, 2011. And yes, I'm counting down the days already. :) Already in double digits!
I can't wait to be your wife, Jordan Smith. You are my best friend and I love you with all my heart!