In the beginning, my husband and I had an “on again, off again” type relationship. We had been friends for years and we didn’t want to pursue a romantic relationship unless we were sure that we were going to get married. Following a fleeting feeling was not worth ruining a friendship, but our feelings were obvious to everyone. I had no idea how much our friends were on the edge of their seat over our relationship, until the “Engagement”. Joshua and I happened to be “off” when it occurred.
During the Summer I was a counselor at a day camp. This particular Summer I had a little red-haired boy named Matthew in my group. Matthew had a big time crush on his camp counselor. On a daily basis he informed that he was going to marry me someday. On the last day of camp, I knew something was up. The other counselors giggled as I walked to my room. I was surprised to find Matthew dressed in a suit. As soon as I walked through the door he fell on his knee and ask me if I would marry him, after he turned sixteen and could drive me to the grocery store. He presented me with a bright green gem ring, straight out of a bubble gum machine.
How could I say no to the earnest faced boy? I saw his dad hiding behind the door with a camera. Clearly I was expected to say yes. Surely by time the kid was sixteen, he would forget about me. So, I accepted the ring.
That night I went out with some friends, but before I left, I wrote a note and placed it on the kitchen table. It said, “Guess what guys! I’m engaged! Wait till you see my ROCK!” I had kept my roommates updated on the romantic antics of my little suitor and I assumed that they would figure out the joke.
They didn’t!
When I got home that night, there was a crowd of people sitting around the table. Apparently an impromptu card party had come together. As soon as I walked through the door one friend demanded, “Let me see your rock!” I proudly showed her my green bubble gum ring and a look of horror crossed her face. “Oh…” my friend said, “It’s (pause) green.” A crowd surrounded me to admire my ring. They wanted details. How did he ask? Did he bow down? When was the wedding? I thought it was so cool that everybody was getting into my joke. Finally somebody reluctantly asked, “Where did Josh get that ring?” My mouth went dry and my head started to spin. “Josh didn’t get me this ring,” I whispered, as I looked at the confused faces all around me.
My roommates thought that Josh and I had finally made up our minds. They had excitedly spread the news to all of our friends. By the time I got home, half of our church knew about the “Engagement.” I had to call Josh and explain what had happened. There were many calls to be made, “No, it was a misunderstanding. Joshua and I are NOT engaged.” Not everyone got the update because Sunday at church, people were still coming up and congratulating us.
It was extremely awkward, but it was also nice to see that so many people were excited about our “engagement”. We announced our real engagement the following Summer and it was greeted with cheers from the congregation.
We just celebrated our tenth anniversary and all those on and offs are a distant memory. I still have a little green ring in my jewelry box though and a thought just hit me. Matthew is probably driving by now. Hopefully he has found some other girl to drive to the grocery store!