The Story So Far

Ideally, this blog would all be real-time, revealing the details of this wonderful journey (engagement & marriage, not the trip to Italy & Greece) one day at a time in real time leading up to the other wonderful journey (Italy & Greece). Well, that train has already left la stazione ferroviaria (and, yes, before you ask, I will be sprinkling Italian words throughout the blog to give the illusion that I truly can speak Italian ... which I can, at least until someone asks me a question or speaks to me at all in any language, at which time I respond "uuuuuuhhhh, Io ... quanti anni hai? ... parle inglese?" It makes me feel better about myself, so just humor me) ... but I digress.

Point is: I'll be filling in the gaps of history prior to today; Nancy and I will fill in the details from this point forward in real time, or at least as real as we can make it.

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I won't start at the very beginning, but will fast-forward to May of this year. I don't remember the date, but I started skulking around the Smyth Jeweler website, looking for a ring design no one's ever actually designed (perhaps a design no one would actually want to design). It was going to be unique and beautiful, with swirly silver flowing metal things around three stones ... the three stones were important ... one for each of my daughters, Elizabeth & Aliceann, and the big one in the middle symbolizing me. This was important because I was a package deal with two wonderful young ladies; it's a very important part of the whole relationship of our new family since Nancy's so good with the girls and because the girls seem to truly adore her ... as do I.

Well, the swirly silver things would have probably put out several eyes and destroyed every sweater Nancy owned, and I luckily abandoned any thought of the design when a three-stone setting with a beautiful flowing trellis design on the side found me, instead. Several days later, I made my way to Smyths and made friends with Rob who helped me find the perfect stones and got the ball rolling. Several weeks and a new mortgage later, I nervously had the ring in my hands.

Buon Giorno! Just wanted to throw another Italian phrase in here. Impressed yet?

Much like the swirly silver flowing metal thingy design thing I had going, I had the perfect plan for proposing to Nancy, and much like the swirly silver flowing metal thingy design, another plan found me, instead. It's really not surprising another plan found me because my plan - remember, this is June now - my plan was to hang on to the ring until October, secretly stow it for the trip to Italy, find some perfect location in Tuscany, put my knee down in the Tuscan soil and propose. OCTOBER! Let's see ... June July August September October ... I was going to sit on this plan for four months! Quattro mesi! Well, like, a week goes by and - I'm not entirely sure how we got there, but - we're talking about getting married in Tuscany, which we both agree is perfect for both of us. This would make the engagement kind of short if I didn't speed up the proposal process a bit. I like the idea of having a Fiancee and I love using the term Fiancee, and if I didn't make her my Fiancee rather quickly, I wouldn't have much time to call her my Fiancee or to casually drop the term Fiancee into everyday conversation about Fiancees, cars, Fiancees, or high Finance, so I either had to get hopping on the Fiancee plans or at least cram the Fiancee term into every conversation I could, whether my Fiancee was there or Fiancee not Fiancee. E la mia Fidanzata!

By this time it's July. My Fiancee, Nancy, and I are about to leave for Florida with the girls, and I've got to find the right time & place to propose. An idea starts to brew, followed by the obligatory internet research ... you'll have to wait for the next post for the details. Domani.

Ciao! - M. Brent