18 and Engaged

It’s been a hot minute since I last wrote a blog post. Forgive me, I’m a little rusty.

May 21, 2015.

I was 18, he was 19, and we had been eagerly anticipating this moment for nearly 3 years.

Let’s start from the beginning. On a snowy November night, a short few days after I had turned 16, Zach stopped by my house to pick me up, ‘as friends’. My 16 year old self was filled with nervous excitement. The truth is, I had never been out, alone, with a guy. We had already established over text (romantic, I know), that we had feelings for each other. We knew that this was more than just an outing, this was a first date. My first date ever.

Fast forward 1.5 years. Zach and I walked hand in hand out of our school gymnasium as a happy, graduated couple. We didn’t know where life was about to take us. We didn’t know what our careers would be, if we would go to post secondary school, or what our passions in life were. But there was one thing we were sure of; we were going to get married someday.

Nearly a year later Zach found himself on an ice fishing trip with my dad and brother. Little did I know that during that long car ride he would ask for my father’s blessing. A few days later he set out to find the perfect ring and then waited for the perfect moment.

My side of the family was planning a weekend vacation to the mountains in May 2015. Zach and I tagged along with my parents and siblings. We headed out in high spirits, excited for a getaway, some good hiking, and soaking in God’s beautiful handiwork. The idea of a proposal briefly flipped through my mind, but I brushed it off. I was just excited to spend some time with family in the great outdoors.

My family went up a day before everyone else to enjoy a little extra vacation time. We stayed the night in Radium, B.C., in a quant little hotel with a mountainside view. Being a couple, young and very in love, we decided to go for a walk for a little alone time. Across the street from our hotel was a path leading down the side of the mountain toward a stream flowing through the valley. We wondered down that path for a short while, but the night was growing dim and Zach claimed he ‘forgot to use the washroom’ before we left. I was told to wait in the lobby while he slipped away for a few minutes (aka he forgot to bring the ring and needed to run back upstairs to grab it, lol). I usually clue in to these kinds of things, but for some reason I didn’t think anything of it at the time.

He came back, probably feeling more nervous than ever, but still I did not notice (again, how did I not notice?). We explored some more, walking the residential streets, hand in hand, conversing as normal. Little did I know that he was scoping out the perfect place for a proposal.

By the time we started heading back it was completely dark. As we neared our hotel Zach tugged my hand and led me across the street, toward the mountainside path we had taken previously. This is where things started to click in my mind, but I pushed those thoughts away, afraid that I was getting my hopes up for nothing. I kept asking what he was doing, and he kept saying that he ‘just wanted to see something’. A few steps down the path we heard a rustle in the bush and we glanced up to see 2 beady eyes looking straight at us. We stopped in our tracks, our hearts racing faster than ever. There had been reports of bears in the area and we didn’t want to take our chances. After a moment our eyes adjusted and we realized it was just a mountain goat, staring blankly at us. Zach tugged at my hand, urging me to continue walking. At this point I was tired, cold, and a little scared of what else could be lurking out there in the dark.

We walked a few more steps until we reached a park bench overlooking the valley. Zach stopped, pulled something out of his pocket, turned to me, and got down on one knee. I don’t remember what he said, or how long we stayed like that. My mind was buzzing, my heart was racing, and I couldn’t believe what was actually happening. Finally he spit out the words, “Delilah, will you marry me?”.

Pure joy overtook me as I said “Yes, yes, yes!”. He pulled the ring out of the box and gently slipped it onto my finger. I remember gazing at it, watching the diamonds sparkle in the dim light of the street lamp. It was beautiful. I was engaged. We were going to get married.

We hugged, we kissed, we sat on the park bench and began dreaming up our wedding and our life together. I don’t know how long we sat there, cuddling, staring at the ring, and talking. But I do remember the joy and excitement that filled my heart. This was the moment I had been dreaming of for years.