Shortly before Christmas, UncleR and I were talking about life, our future together, and one thing led to another. I don't remember how it happened.
What I do remember is when she looked at me and said: "Will you marry me?" After I said yes, I turned to her and said, "Will YOU marry me?" And it was official. We were engaged.
A few days later, we travelled to New Mexico to visit my family. We had planned to escape to Santa Fe to hunt for dual engagement rings. But, those plans fell through.
We knew we wanted something unique. We knew we wanted something that spoke to us. And we knew we wanted our rings to match.
On Interstate-40 and Route 66, between Albuquerque and Santa Rosa, New Mexico, at exit 234, near a little nothing of a post office town called "Clines Corners"...lies a truck stop...the "Flying C Ranch".
We had passed the truck stop on the way to my mother's house. We had seen sign after sign advertising its' offerings: FUDGE! Hamburgers! Fireworks! Home decor! Native American jewelry! Dairy Queen!
We knew we would pass the Flying C for a second time during our travels, and UncleR wanted to stop.
As soon as we stepped through the doors, I found them. Our rings. Made by a local, Native American jeweler, they were EXACTLY us.
We went out to the parking lot, exchanged rings and we popped the question to each other again.
It was romantic. It was meaningful. It was us. I secretly think the dog barking in the truck parked next to us was wishing us many congrats.
What a story it is! I love to share it. But, I don't share it for anyone but us.
And really, we're the whole reason for this marriage. We're not getting married because society has told us we must. We're not marrying because without a marriage, our relationship is incomplete. In fact, we're wholly complete. We're not getting married because it's the "right" thing to do. We're not getting married for anyone...but US.
I won't bore you with the stories about how neither of us ever believed marriage would be an option or occurrence in our lives. Many same-sex partners feel that way.
I'll simply say this. Just like our engagement, our marriage is for us. We're doing it our way. And we're doing it together.
Exit 234, I-40, Route 66. And that, as they say, is that.
No comments:
Post a Comment