Days 2, 3 & 4

Well, the last few days have been quite a whirlwind of activity. Between seeing my sister, friends, and attending a wedding in Memphis, I'm pretty exhausted. But still excited because D proposed!!! That's right, he did what few others could do and pulled a surprise engagement on me. I honestly had no idea it was coming. I am so happy though! I think the initial shock has finally worn off and now I can talk about it without getting all flustered. He proposed on UNC's campus, on the kissing bench which, as alums know, if you kiss your true love on that bench you will marry him/her. I showed D that bench during his first visit to see me as part of his campus tour. We did kiss on it. I can't believe he remembered and wanted to go back and propose to me while we were sitting on it! So, as all things have been on this trip, we were running late to meet friends for dinner. He insisted on going through a walk on campus, I insisted we skip it. Especially because he was complaining about losing his phone somewhere in the car (we found it afterwords, in the car). So we walked and sat on the bench. He kissed me, and asked if I had ever kissed anyone else on this bench (no). He kissed me again and pulled out the ring, and asked me to marry him! I must have said "Are you serious?" several times before saying yes :) I was too surprised to cry, which I guess was the objective. Here's a pic:

My ring is so pretty! It's an ice diamond from the mines in Canada so you can tell exactly where it came from. It's 2 and 1/4 karat (so I'm told) and a round cut in a cathedral setting. It's stunning. I really can't stop looking at it! No date, no plans yet. I think I'll let myself move before I decide on anything like that. Just enjoying the moment for now!

The rest of the trip has been fun. Yesterday and Today we are in Memphis. We saw Graceland yesterday and went to the fabulous wedding of some friends. Today we are off to Sun Records Studio and Darren is taking the Kooky Canuck 7 lb hamburger challenge. Then we're off to St. Louis!

Day 1: Wednesday, August 25

Left DC and Scott’s house relatively early in the morning, and it wasn’t a great sleep. I think we’re both adjusting to the new sleeping pattern of each other in the bed and, well, usually I’m OK with that because I know it’s temporary. But this time I know it’s not. We’re going to be together from now on. I guess I’ll have to get used to his snoring ;-) If we don't adjust quickly, I fear that two grumpy people with quick tempers may lead to a miserable trip! But I think we'll adjust after another couple of nights.

The rest of the trip was fabulous! We picked up a Garmin and headed off to Norfolk to see my little sister and her BF and celebrate her birthday...26 years young. My good friend Wendy joined us for dinner, and we had a great time catching up and celebrating. Tomorrow I think we’ll jet off to the outer banks before heading to the Raleigh area. Good-byes are still coming so I’m not too sad yet. The drive to Memphis will likely be miserable because I’ll be so sad to have left everyone at that point. Good thing we picked up a box of tissues today.

Everything's in a Cube!!!

Everything's packed and ready to go! No fights, we just "got er done." I'm always amazed how one's life fits into boxes, and in this case one massive box with room to spare. Let's hope nothing gets broken en-route. Tonight we spend the night with a friend and then it's off to our first stop, Norfolk, to see my sister. Let the road-tripping begin!

The Final Countdown

Today makes it official...I only have one week left here in the good ol' U.S. of A. I am a mix of emotions right now, which is fun for no one, least of all myself. But the boxes are mostly packed (except for some last minute stuff), the moving cube confirmed, and the anticipation great. I want to go. NOW. Just leave, but I have to be patient for one more week.

I'm always amazed at how one can literally fit a life into a bunch of boxes. It kind of makes you think, that's it? That's really everything? But it's strangely liberating and terrifying at the same time. Like you're closing off a loose end and everything's wrapped up neatly in a pretty little (or big) box. There's nothing left to come back to after this. Which can be incredibly depressing because I love all my friends here and leaving them is just about the hardest thing I've ever had to do. But then I'm reminded of the incomparable Dr. Seuss:

         
Congratulations!
Today is your day.
You’re off to Great Places!
You’re off and away!
You have brains in your head.
You have feet in your shoes.
You can steer yourself any direction you choose.
You’re on your own. And you know what you know. And YOU are the [gal] who’ll decide where to go...

Oh! The places you'll go! 
You’ll be on your way up!
You’ll be seeing great sights!
You’ll join the high fliers who soar to high heights....

And will you succeed?
Yes! You will, indeed!
(98 and ¾ percent guaranteed.)
Kid, you’ll move mountains!
So…be your name Buxbaum or Bixby or Bray or Mordecai Ale Van Allen O’Shea, you’re off to Great Places!
Today is your day!
Your mountain is waiting.
So…get on your way!



One more weekend of celebration for my friend's wedding then I FINALLY (5 months later) get to see Darren and I move! One week will fly by with the wedding and other last-minute good-bye plans, but it's already too far away. I want to hit the open road, knowing that the end of this journey is really just the beginning of another one. And I can hardly wait to start.