Happy Valentine’s Day! Engagements Galore By Pat Kinsella Herdeg

Happy Valentine’s Day! Engagements Galore By Pat Kinsella Herdeg

Last year we celebrated Jack and CB Kinsella’s longtime love in our Valentine’s Day story. We also told of Evelyn Taylor (wife of CB’s first cousin Bryant) engagement to Bryant on Valentine’s Day:

http://taylorbakercousins.blogspot.com/2018/02/happy-valentines-day-by-pat-kinsella.html

It’s a great read and even includes some Gaelic sayings, so click on it and read it again!

That blog story got me thinking—when and how DID some of us become engaged?

Pat and Glenn Herdeg

How did I get engaged? I was working at Worcester airport for a student travel company that sent group of high school students to Europe, and so, Glenn and I LOVED to talk about traveling everywhere! One snowy winter afternoon at dusk, Glenn was picking me up at the airport and right in the parking lot, with snowflakes on our faces and coats and mittens, Glenn got down on one knee and proposed! I said yes, a ring appeared, and we were off to the races!

Beth and Takeshi Sakanishi

From Beth:

Takeshi and I do not have a dramatic or interesting engagement story, but our ‘marriage ceremony’ is certainly slightly different from most. We considered a traditional Japanese one at a shrine (which I would have loved), but it was way too expensive for us. We considered Hawaii, to make it more convenient for my family. But really, neither of us wanted a big one. Neither of us likes to be the center of attention. 

So, in the end, we just went to the city hall. It took about 5 minutes. We signed some forms, basically my name was officially added to his family register, and I became a legal member of his family. 

Boring, right? But the whole memory of this day was changed by what the clerk said, casually pointing behind us, after we’d filled in the forms. “You can choose any one of those that you like. They are the city’s gift to you.” She was pointing to a row of half a dozen baby trees, barely a foot high. We both liked the same one and did not even know what it was until it began blooming a few years later: it is camellia tree and the deep pink, delicate blossoms are lovely. It is also about two meters tall now and remains a reminder that the best celebrations can be unexpected ones. 

 

Mom and Dad:

My first date with Dad in 1945, we went to walk through his Waterloo High School. In the auditorium, on the stage, Dad got down on one knee and began to recite a speech about marrying me. Amazed, I listened and didn’t say anything; it was obvious he was remembering something from a poem or play. However, I kept that picture of Dad down on one knee in my mind’s eye.

Two years later, in 1947, Dad was back from the Navy and we picked out an engagement ring together. As we opened it in the living room of 427 Main Street, Dad said to me ‘Don’t expect me to get down on one knee.’ He asked me to marry him standing and looking into my eyes. I flashed back to our first date and Dad getting down on one knee. Combine both memories, and there you have it!

Wes and Julie Riber

Julie and Wes:

Wes and I met at the Colorado State Capitol. He was a trooper with the Colorado State Patrol assigned to the governor’s security detail. I worked for a software consulting firm who developed software specifically for state legislatures and the legislative process.  So I was in charge of training and troubleshooting users at the Capitol, especially the secretarial pool ladies who decided to set us up at a Coors beer party held for legislators and legislative staff. Wes and I just happened to be invited as well. That was on January 19, 1985.

Well, it obviously worked. He looked so good in a uniform I couldn’t resist. And he would climb up in an area over the ceiling of the Senate floor and spy on me. We started dating and by May he had asked me to marry him while standing on a cliff overlooking downtown Denver. I said “Yes,” he moved in with me and September 14 we were married all in the same year.  He’s still the love of my life!

  

Editor: We would love to hear how others became engaged. Write it in the comments and tell us! Remember that it will not show up right away. I read comments first before agreeing to them, as I have about 2 to 3 spam comments a day.