The Proposal

So, how did I decide to start the whole marriage adventure AGAIN, after all I was put through and my horrible experience the first time?



When Scott and I first started dating, I told him right off the bat that marriage was off the table EVER. There was no way on God's green Earth that I would put myself through the emotional roller coaster I perceived marriage to be. Fortunately, Scott agreed. I remember him saying that if he ever even considered getting married again, the girl would have to be VERY special.



After a few months of dating, Scott and I were having a late night conversation about how compatible we were, including how much we both love to dance. I blurted out, "See, I should have married you first!" Scott stopped talking and asked me to repeat myself, but I refused. How could I have mentioned the "M" word to him? That's when he took my hand and said, "I've thought about it too. I already know how I'll I propose." Although we never got any further into the marriage conversation on that particular night, it was just one more sign about deeply I was falling for Scott.


By Christmas of 2007, I just KNEW I was getting a ring. My parents, my sister, Lindsay and my brother in law, Chad, would all be in town for the holiday. Scott and I had been looking at rings together for a couple of months, and my birthday had already passed. It had to be Christmas, it just had to be.

Christmas morning we were surrounded by family. All of our children were there, my parents were there, my sister and her husband were there, my in-laws were all there. With all 18 people there opening gifts, it took awhile. Three hours later, when all packages were opened and stockings emptied, I still had a bare left ring finger. I guess I was visibly disappointed, because Scott said to me, "Honey, Christmas is too obvious."


One of our Christmas gifts from my parents was a long weekend in DC, all expenses paid, for both Lindsay and Chad and Scott and I, along with my parents. The six of us drove up together i my van the morning of the 29th of December and took up three rooms at a really nice Dupont Circle hotel. We planned to stay through New Year's Day, and had purchased tickets for a black tie dinner and dance cruise on New Year's Eve. (I love dressing up, I love dancing, I love eating, and I love going out in a group that includes my parents and my sister and Scott, so I was super excited.) Yet, as New Year's Day loomed, also my parents' and sister's departure date for Texas, I got a little depressed too. I had really hoped that my parents would be around when Scott proposed. They live so far, and I get to share so little of my day to day life with them, that I really wanted them present at that moment. It did not appear that I was going to get my wish.


Looking back on New Year's Eve, I should have seen the proposal coming from a mile away. That day, after lunch, Scott claimed a headache and said he wanted to go lay down. Chad, my brother in law, said he had to work. I was left to walk around with my mother and sister, which wasn't necessarily a bad thing. However, my sister IMMEDIATELY started asking me why I thought Scott had chosen not to propose over the holidays. I didn't have any answers, and told her sadly, that he must have just not been ready.


At 8pm, the six of us pulled into the parking lot of the Dandy Dinner Boat, which cruises along the Potomac River through the heart of DC. We were running late (a Kirsch family trait), so my sister and my mother and Scott and Chad jumped out of the van. I started to follow them, but my sister, Lindsay, stopped me and told me to stay with my dad and meet them inside. I thought it was a little strange, but I did what I was told. (I later found out that it was so Scott could meet with the maitre de and give him the ring.) When I entered the boat with my dad, Scott was off in the corner talking to a staff member, but I didn't really think that much of it.


A couple of hours later, the six of us were happily cruising with full bellies, as we had just finished our dinner. Our waiter appeared at our table carrying a single saucer, covered by a linen napkin. He set the saucer in front of me, explaining that he had forgotten to bring something out with my entree and disappeared. I looked at Scott and he was beaming.


The next thing I knew, Scott was on his knee next to me, holding a little ring box. He said, "Laura, make 2008, and the rest of my life, as special as you made my 2007. Will you marry me?" I will never forget those words for as long as I live. On cloud nine, I told him yes, we kissed, and celebrated the rest of the night.