I suppose I should start with the obvious: I'm ENGAGED! Yep, after four years, Shane proposed. I'd be lying if I said it was an absolute surprise- for one, we've been together FOUR YEARS, and two, we've been talking about it for a long time. That doesn't mean, however, it wasn't completely thrilling!
He did SO good! We had decided to go to dinner at a restaurant in Baltimore harbor, which, in and of itself, isn't so out of the ordinary. We do nothing but eat out whenever I visit. All day long before dinner, Shane had been quiet, and I was getting irritated. "What's wrong with you?" I kept asking, "why are you so cranky?" "I'm NOT cranky, just tired," he kept saying. "Get OVER it- I'm only here for four days." Yeah, I know. I'm an AWESOME girlfriend.
This being a nice place, I borrowed a friend of mine's dress for the evening. Rita is WAY more fashionable than I am, so this dress was not per usual for me. At the restaurant, I asked Shane, "So whats your opinion on this dress? I feel weird in it." "It looks nice," he said, "Not your usual style, but it looks good on you. It's missing something, though." I'm amused, thinking, what? Rita accessorized me- what in hell could this dress be missing, and when the hell did YOU become Mr. Fashion Savvy, Shane Lisowski? THEN he says, "I'm pretty sure you're missing something on your finger- will you marry me, dear?" Out comes a beautiful little box with the most STUNNING ring I could have imagined. It was SO cute, and SO very Shane- a proposal that was a thousand times sweeter than any I'd fantasized about. Of course, I had to ruin it by squealing, "ARE YOU SURE? NO, DEAR, I'M SERIOUS? ARE YOU SERIOUS? ARE YOU REALLY REALLY SURE?" That lasted for about a minute and a half, before I finally asked, "Have I said yes, yet?" He looks at me with these wide, exasperated eyes and yells, "NO!" "Oh, then yes." Then there was hugging and kissing and general lovin', followed by a ridiculously amazing dinner overlooking the harbor. Fabulous, fabulous evening. :-)
So we're getting married. Not completely sure of the date yet- likely the third weekend in May of 2011 (either the 20th, 21st), so I have TONS of time to plan. We had initially wanted to just get away, do a destination wedding and then throw and incredibly informal party afterwards. But Shane is actually surprisingly more traditional than I had expected, so we're going to plan the traditional thing. I've pretty well jumped feet first into planning- its too exciting not to! I have a dress, and some ideas for a ceremony and reception. Not committing to anything right yet, but its good to have some direction. I have a feeling, though, I'm going to have it planned by the time Shane gets back from Afghanistan. :-)
So, yes, Shane is leaving for Afghanistan in about a month. He'll get back sometime in June (hopefully)and while he's gone I'll be... well, I'll be a lot of things. Sad, for one, without visits every three weeks or go to refresh me. I'll be trying to be the tough one in the relationship, a role I've relinquished for the past three years (soooo many shrill phone calls about how 'I'M NEVER GONNA BE A GOOD DOCTOR!'). I'll be trying to stay insanely busy to keep my sanity (my surgical rotation in April will certainly help w/ that). I'll be sending him care packages as frequently as I can afford to. I'll be worried every single day, and I'll be so proud I'll tell every one I meet, "My baby is a Marine, serving his country in Afghanistan." But overall, I'll be ok. My little velcro dog will be here to snuggle with when I'm feeling sad. I have good friends who will keep me from getting insane with worry. And I have school, which is incredibly fulfilling most of the time. But the cold hard fact is that fiance, my best friend, my other half is going to be half a world away for six months, in an area. Its certainly not going to be easy. But I'll be ok, and that may all I may be capable of for a while.
Aaaaaah I should be in bed. I'm post call and exhausted. Actually, what I REALLY should be doing is studying! Medicine is seriously ramping up, and I have limited days left to engrave MKSAP into my brain. Have a good night, all. :-)
