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Part I : The Weeks Before
Part II : The Night
Needless to say, we knew the news of our engagement would spread pretty fast, but as of when I asked her, the only people who really knew I was going to ask her were her parents, one of my brothers, and I think Bobby, Brandon, and Carol. Her parents knew because I had to ask them; my brother knew because I talked to him about it because I didn't want to steal his thunder too much (he had gotten engaged two weeks earlier); my friends knew about it because I can't keep a secret. As far as I know, my parents had no clue. And of course they were the first people we got to tell.
After Tammy called most of her family, we went over and talked to my parents for forever, while both of us were sort of looking for a lull in the conversation to drop the bomb. Mom was rambling about all kinds of things, and every time, just as I was getting up the courage to begin my rehearsed lines, another topic would come up. Eventually, I said "Tammy's got something to show you" as I pulled her over to my mom and stuck her hand out at her. Of course, mom and dad freaked out...it was really funny. I then called most of my family and told them.
The next day brought a trip to Huntsville so Tammy could show everyone the ring. By the time we got there, her mom had already started making invitation lists and plans for the wedding. No one can ever accuse her of procrastinating.
The rest of the world found out about our engagement over the next few weeks. Most of my friends knew it was coming soon, so they weren't overly shocked or anything, but it was still fun to tell people. I wish I had time to tell each story individually, but I don't.
At this point in January, I had only been in my apartment a little over month. Tammy's imagination immediately starting coming up with all the ways she could de-bachelorize my apartment and make it all "pretty". Of course I went along, and to be honest, I wasn't as reluctant as I thought I'd be. After all, 1122 was the greatest bachelor pad ever, and my room at the BCM my senior year has its own rugged element. I was kind of looking forward to the change...a guy can only have bare walls and eat Chef Boyardee for so long.
So anyway, a good portion of the last six months have been spent pouring time and money into getting the apartment ready to have a woman living here. There's definitely a dramatic change in the look of the place, and I'm sure it'll be even more different once she actually moves in, but the place really does look cool now. Much more lived-in looking. I have more furniture, the kitchen has new stuff and wallpaper, the livingroom has curtains, the main bathroom has TOTALLY been redone, and the bedroom has new furniture and has been painted. And there's lots of little things too numerous to mention. Between the apartment "renovation" and the wedding planning, this has certainly been a very busy year so far. Of course, I haven't had to do NEARLY the amount of wedding planning that Tammy's done, but I think I've done my fair share. More than a lot of guys I've heard about at least.
So that pretty much brings you up to date. As I write this, the wedding is just over a week away, and I can't wait!