Engaged!

There's a lot going on in this little corner of our world. Life is happening at such a clip in fact that I've felt too caught up in experiencing it to be able to report on the happenings. But here's the lead story. My daughter and her love became engaged last weekend, and it was an entirely wonderful day that ended with the newly engaged couple arriving at a restaurant where my girl thought they would be having an intimate celebratory dinner, only to find her parents, his mom and sister, her brother and his wife, her sister cousin and her husband who flew in from Dallas to surprise her, and two other cousins (one of hers and one of his) waiting to toast their engagement over a family meal. 

My girl, who had FaceTimed us right after the proposal, had no idea that we would be waiting for her, and she burst into tears when she saw us, sobbing in our arms. They were happy tears, she assured us. "This whole day has been so amazing," she said, "and I actually had the thought that the only thing that could make everything more perfect would be to see my family." Her love anticipated that, too.

Oh it had been a day, one surprise after another planned by her now-fiance, who hoped to build anticipation while including people in her life whom she dearly loves, starting with brunch with her five best friends from childhood, followed by, among other experiences, a manicure with three college pals and a shopping spree with two women with whom my girl feels the most supreme comfort. Assisted by a non-binary personal shopper who brought their own whimsy and joy, my girl and her two besties had a fantastic time trying on fantasy clothes while laughing and snapping Polaroids and sipping champagne. 

All the family members  were already at the restaurant when my girl, who was running late, texted me: "Had a styling session with Brooke and Jasmine! It was THE MOST fun ever. Walked out with a brand new outfit that I feel very special in. Final stop is a hotel in midtown. Here I go!"

She knew that her love would be waiting, though she had no idea he had booked a room with a terrace overlooking the city where he had set up tea lights as a backdrop for the private proposal. There was more, so much more, the things he told my daughter that were so beautiful, ending with how much he treasured "the simplicity" of their relationship, their "deep ease" with one another. And then he was on one knee asking her to marry him, to which she replied, “Yes! Fuck yes!” She recounted her response later at the dinner table, and everyone, even her soon-to-be mother law, a retired schoolteacher, laughed delightedly at her conviction.

And now we have another wedding on the horizon, and a very happy couple—who met during their college freshman orientation and began dating in sophomore year—still riding the high of being newly engaged. 

Here's another picture, we joke it's a prom pose. It shows my parents first three grands and their loves, in various stages of making a life together. I know that somewhere in the unseen, Las and Gloria are smiling down, because their highest wish for their children and grandchildren was always and only this—that our lives be filled to overflowing with love. 

Four days after that magical night, I scored free tickets for the revival of 1776: The Musical, and my daughter was my date. The show is about the founding fathers debating and finally signing the declaration of independence, except instead of the white men in our history books, the signers are portrayed by actors who identify as female, trans, and non binary, and represent every ethnicity and body type on our American shores. It was powerful to see these non-male and non-cisgender actors reclaiming a passage of history from which they and theirs had been excluded. The performances were breathtaking, every voice soared. 

Afterward, my girl and I went for our usual pre- or post-theater dinner at Seamore's, the seafood place she loves, where she told me a lovely thing. "Were you nervous not knowing what would be happening next?" I had asked her about the day of the proposal, because I know my girl has a good strong strain of the anxiety that often claims her mother in the face of the unknown. "Not one bit," she said. "I never knew who would be coming around the next corner, or what I would be doing next, but I was happy and excited, because I knew Noel had planned the whole thing, and he knows me, so I felt emotionally safe." 

It was, I tell you, a balm to this mother's heart. 

One more picture, this one of my girls. I just love their joy.