The crisp morning air is full of excitable electricity. The sun seems to be warming me from the inside out. People bustling around us as we walk.
We make our way down the busy sidewalk and I take a moment to appreciate the beautiful simplicity I feel amongst such a crowd. I consciously feel his hand wrapped so perfectly around mine, our steps naturally in sync. I look up to my left and he looks back down at me with eyes full of love and a smile filled with hope.
Life is good.
The sign suddenly overhead reads “Welcome to Mt. Heavenly”. As we approach the gondola I realize we’re actually getting on. Excitement fills my bones. I squeeze his hand and give him a quick peck on the cheek before hoisting myself up into the seat. He slides in next time me, arm around me as we release the overwhelming joy with laughter.
The view is stunning.
The first terrace is the souvenir shop, the second is lively with a restaurant and some sort of giant blowup bouncy house. After exploring both we make our way to the ski lift. Looks like it’s not open to the general public.
“Bummer,” I say, “bet it’s beautiful up there.”
He grabs my hand and we’re walking up the steps to board. The kid working starts to say we can’t get on, but his training didn’t include bargaining with Joe Girres. He quickly ushers us on and off we go. Up, up, up, as the people below us get smaller and smaller, the view of the lake gets bigger and bigger.
The heat of the day is setting in. We’re both sweating. Laughing about how perfectly things worked out in finding ourselves here. When the lift reaches the platform we jump off. I look up the mountain to see a daunting, dusty trail ahead of us.
“Race-ya-to-the-top-ready-set-go!” I holler back over my shoulder.
Three seconds later, I’ve been scooped up and we’re bounding up the trail in a sweaty, breathless knot of laughter. 20 yards later he puts me down and we take a moment to enjoy the scenery that we are solely engulfed in.
As we approach the tippy top of the mountain, a ski deck comes in sight. Not a soul around, but us. We climb up onto the rickety deck and take in the view of the entire lake.
Breathtaking.
As I sit, overcome with peace, looking out over the landscape I hear Joe say, “Babe?”
I turn to find him in front of me, down on one knee.
Oh. My. God.
I gasp for the air stolen from my chest. I can hardly hear him over the sound of my heart flooding my throat.
“I love you. I’m always gonna love you. No matter what life brings us or takes away from us, my life will always be better with you by my side. I want to wake up next to you, proudly walk beside you, and love you from the inside out. I promise to make you feel seen and heard, every day for the rest of our lives. I promise to kiss you goodnight and hug you goodbye each and every morning. You are everything I’ve been waiting for and so much more, I would be honored to be your husband. To care for you and love you and make you feel safe and beautiful no matter what the future holds. Will you marry me?”
“Yes!” flings out of my mouth. I leap from my seat into his arms and seal every single promise with a kiss.
As we make our way off of the ski deck, he spots a glimmer. A nickel, heads up, dated 1994.
My husband asked me to marry him on July 18, 2010 at the tippy top of Mt. Heavenly in Lake Tahoe.
I had known for quite a while before hand that he was the one I would marry. No question in my mind, but his proposal was a surprise. I was just so wrapped up in the amazing day we were having and the beautiful place we were vacationing, that I wasn’t much expecting it was going to get even better.
If you’ve been following this blog, my life story, you know by now that my life, much like many other’s, hadn’t been perfect per say. By the time I’d gotten engaged, I’d caught a lot of life’s curveballs… not always gracefully.
Joe always felt like home to me. He has a way of making me feel balanced and confident. Joe has given me the gift of feeling like I can be myself. He never judges me or makes me feel bad about who I am. And he has a steadfast way of believing in everything I want to become.
My husband knows all of my flaws, perhaps better than anyone, and he knows my weaknesses, but instead of using them against me, he’s always encouraged me to better myself, to check myself, and to love myself as fiercely as I love those around me.
Our marriage is a testament to hope, to growth, to open mindedness. An ode to taking responsibility for yourself, your life, deciding what it is you want and need and not settling until you find it.
This love found me when I was least expecting it. And the only way I can explain it is; I was smack dab in the middle of focusing on myself, bettering myself, concentrating on the positive and freeing myself of other peoples judgement as well as my own, when BAM, he walked in and never walked back out.
Life is full of situations and circumstances we don’t have a whole lot of choice in. So, when I’m fortunate enough to be blessed with one of life’s goodies, I cherish it. Consciously, every single day.
P.S. My dad passed away in 1994. Finding that nickel, heads up, was received by me as a good luck charm… and a Father’s Blessing. So, thanks Dad, for whatever hand you had in making sure I was in the right place at the right time… in so many ways.