betrothed

the eve to christmas eve, i can't believe it. i've been counting the days until the 25th for the past month and now, less than two days away, i have to remind myself it's almost here. still need to wrap some presents. still need to get some work done for my office job. all of a sudden though, i just can't seem to get my head in the game. my usual level of distraction is so far exceeded that i can barely remember my name.

i wonder why.


on monday afternoon, in the middle of a mountain top hike, in the middle of a mountain biking excursion, in the middle of an embrace, haley asked me to marry her. despite all my eager anticipation of the moment and daydreams about how it may happen, i was totally blindsided and a split second slow to recognize this is it! but it didn't take long for me to catch up and i haven't come down off that mountain yet.

engaged.
engaged and in love.
engaged and certain.

it seems that most relationships start out at their peak. the honeymoon. the high. and then, some faster than others, they start a steady and often precipitous decline until one or both parties extricate themselves from the rubble. but this time it's different for me.

sure, we started off on an endorphin high and rode that wave just like everyone else. but there's been something else in our relationship..even since the beginning.. something i couldn't put a finger on. i think it was a rawness. rough edges. a process. pace. reality pressing in from the very beginning.

and, quite honestly where i may have expected that to scare me away, the journey..the growth.. has bonded my heart to haley's in a way i've never known. unlike any relationship prior, and most that i see around me, ours has simply become better and better over the past two years.

so now...engaged. a promise to be married. betrothed.

the word betroth comes from the latin betreuthe, be treuthe, be true.
and maybe that's what it was that i couldn't put a finger on, the thing that makes us magical together. truth. her truth. my truth.

our truth, together.

d: holidays as bright for you as mine are already
b: i'm engaged!
g: our truth has set me free.