Well, here is the moment you have all been waiting for: my engagement story. =)
This year I knew I was spending Thanksgiving with Adam and his family. On Thanksgiving Eve (is that really a day?) we went out to the Texas Roadhouse with his parents and Chad, a close friend/adopted brother. I knew we were getting close to the moment of engagement for numerous reasons. I know Adam extremely well, and I began to notice a few comments he made to people about things happening in a few days and he was thinking too much about things he wouldn’t normally have talked about. Anyway, I was holding my breath, hoping the time was coming soon, but at the same time, trying to keep my expectations low. (Psssh…. is that possible when it comes to engagement???)
Like every home, there are certain traditions in the Bowman home. One of those includes hunting on Thanksgiving morning. Up to the point of Wednesday evening, Adam hadn’t decided if he was going (Gasp!) I asked him that night as we drove home from the Roadhouse, and he responded by asking me what time I was coming over. I really want him to be able to do the things he enjoys, so I encouraged him that I’d just come over whenever and help his mom cook until he came back. He in turn asked if I’d like to go horseback riding instead.
I love horses. I have ridden them since I was 11, and I used to train racehorses fresh off the track. Adam and I have talked about going horseback riding for months now, but time and circumstances have never allowed it. When he asked me if I wanted to go horseback riding, I was super excited. Adam pawned off the opportunity as taking advantage of an offer by a local family whom he had worked for this past summer. They had tried to pay him, and he, knowing I loved to ride, told them he’d refuse the money but take them up on a horseback ride later some time. Apparently, he had called the Wards and they were game for us coming over on Thanksgiving morning to cash in that offer.
So, at this point, I’m really curious. He’d been unconsciously leading me on to think engagement was coming soon by a variety of things, and now he was giving up hunting to go horseback riding with me….????? HMMMMMMM…… I fought my own imagination and just chose to focus on the horseback ride.
Thanksgiving morning I got to Adam’s around 9:40. ( I was 10 min late) We headed right out to the Wards and after a nice talk with Mrs. Ward and Lajoie her daughter, we took the horses around their nice pond and up the hill. Unfortunately Adam’s horse was not cooperative at all, and he took off cantering and bucking. A little frustrated, we decided to walk them for a while. I cinched up Adam’s horse’s stirrups and tried to take his horse for a ride, but he started bucking big time. Since we didn’t have helmets on, we just decided to walk for the rest of the time and avoid any accidents.
At the top of the hill, we paused in the middle of a corn field. Adam made a few comments about the scenery and what we could see, and we just stood talking as our horses grazed.
It was the perfect set-up. We were standing between our horses and talking and enjoying a beautiful morning. I turned to my horse to fix something on his bridle, when out of the corner of my eye, I caught Adam going down on one knee. There, on November 26, 2009, Adam Garrett Bowman asked me to marry him!!!!!!
I would write out exactly what he said, but hey… it was for my ears only. [Another long sigh…..] =)
We were standing there caught up in the moment when suddenly, Adam got a text-message. It was from Punkface (if you’ve read my blog before, you know who that is), and it was a picture of us WHERE WE WERE STANDING RIGHT THEN!!! My response: “What the heck?! Where is he?!”
Adam, my wonderful fiance, had the whole event perfectly planned, and Aaron was awesome enough to help the whole morning go so smoothly! Adam had dropped Aaron off on the hill at 8 that morning, and Aaron had camouflaged himself in a bale of hay at the end of the woods nearby to take pictures of our special moment. After a few more minutes of talking and laughing, we headed down to the Ward’s pond, where Aaron took more pictures of us. [Long sigh…..Big smile] =D
What an amazing morning!!! How awesome! I am now engaged to the man of my dreams and the love of my life!!!
Making My Boast 