We're engaged!

The day after Thanksgiving 2009 started out an ordinary enough day - little did I know that by the end of it I would be calling my boyfriend my fiance!

Since he had the day off from work, Alden and I drove up to Morro Bay for the day just to hang out and see some big waves crashing on the jetty at Morro Rock. The wind was absolutely howling around the Rock, whipping sand and ocean spray into our faces and testing our balance. As the wind got angrier the longer we stayed, we decided to go back into town and duck inside someplace for a late lunch/early dinner.

After eating, we decided to head back home slowly, driving by the Morro Bay Estuary and into the small town of Los Osos. That's when we decided to stop by a place we had several times driven past, but never explored: Los Osos Oaks State Natural Reserve. One immediately feels a sense of reverence, peace and timelessness walking into the company of ancients such as these artfully gnarled oak trees. As we hiked deeper into the forest, into the quiet away from the busy road, and seemingly back through time, the chilly wind pulled up a blanket of low marine clouds and the sun began descending over the horizon.

Alden was walking behind me the whole time and had given me his sweatshirt to wear against the cold. When we would stop at a crossroads and deliberate over which direction to go, I vaguely sensed from him a sort of nervous energy, a subtle breathlessness and quickened heartbeat, and the thought of asking him if he was feeling OK flitted through my mind. I think I asked him if he was cold without his sweatshirt instead. :)

We approached a crossroads in a clearing I think we had wordlessly decided would be the turnaround point, as it was now just starting to get dark. I was about to turn to Alden and say something to that effect when he said my name. I turned and he and took my hands in his, saying that he wanted to spend the rest of his life with me - now I could feel his pulse and my heart jumped at the thought of what was about to happen.

"Will you marry me?"

I cannot imagine sweeter words ever spoken. In fact, I asked him to say them again, because they were just so sweet to my ear coming from the love of my life, my best friend and soulmate, the man who taught me that true love exists. Of course, the ecstatic answer from my whole being was, "YES!"

Wedding details will be forthcoming as we delve into earnest planning once the holiday swirl is over. For now, to answer one of the first questions people ask a newly-engaged bride: I do not have a "rock" on my finger. This was a decision Alden and I made together, and the reasons for it are many. For us, marriage is not about the materialist (and I might add sexist) traditions and trappings, but about the lifelong commitment to love, support, respect, and strengthen each other. That doesn't mean we won't be honoring some traditions - we will both wear wedding rings, for example.

Amusingly, in telling friends and family members about our engagement, the consensus response has been, "Well, it's about time!" Strangers have already addressed us as husband and wife several times over the last year we've been together. Apparently, the fact that we are made for each other is obvious not just to the two of us!

Below are a few photos from Los Osos Oaks:

Alden in front of a giant oak tree that had long since fallen - but was still alive!