Engaged!

Yesterday, after two and a half years of dating, Ryan proposed to me. (I don't think anyone will be shocked that I said "yes".)

Because I knew the ring was coming, to throw me off the scent Ryan had told me he had something planned every weekend in December. Last weekend involved a picnic on the beach, so when he advised me we were taking a road trip on Saturday and of the necessary attire, I told myself that it was entirely possible that THIS weekend may not be THE weekend and whatever we were doing would be fun regardless.

So yesterday morning I gamely donned my bathing suit and sunglasses and practically skipped out to the van. It was an ADVENTURE! One that might involve a PROPOSAL! And... and... a RING! But maybe NOT! And that's OKAY!!

My first clue came when we dropped off the Dodge Caravan at Budget Car Rental in favor of a Chevy Cobalt. To me this meant we were going far enough that it merited renting a car (to save money on gas)... but not so far that we'd need to stay overnight (I had not been told to pack a toothbrush).

A few short hours later, we found ourselves in Key Largo. Ryan's first choice for lunch (The Fish House) wound up not opening until 11:30 AM, so we dined across the street at Rib Daddy's Kountry Kitchen, a tasty little hole in the wall. Here I was allowed to play 20 Questions. After inquiring whether or not we had much further to drive (no... so probably still in Key Largo)... if we were getting in the water (yes... hence the bathing suit)... if the day involved heights (no... so not parasailing)... or animals (yes)... I started to get excited.

First - some history. When I was little, I loved dolphins. Nay. This thing I had for dolphins... it went far beyond love. I wanted to raise a little baby dolphin in my bathtub, to frolic with dolphins in the wild... y'all, I wanted to BE a dolphin. I would happily splash about in my grandparents' pool making what I envisioned to be dolphin noises, periodically flinging myself out of the water in my very best imitation of a dazzling leap.

Luckily I outgrew this behavior, but my interest in Flipper did not end with childhood. When I was 18 I rushed right out and got a tattoo of two dolphins on my ankle and even debated Marine Biology as a career until that fateful day I learned it involved THE DREADED HATEFUL MATH and therefore managed to fall securely out of the realm of "Stuff Meagan Enjoys".

So when Ryan confirmed that whatever we were doing involved both the water and animals, using my tremendous powers of deductive reasoning, I asked "Am I swimming with dolphins??" The answer (yes) brought on a surprising bout of tears, and I rushed us right out of the restaurant and over to Dolphins Plus, a research and education facility in Key Largo.

Because I am an eager little dolphin freak, we were there a half hour early, so we sat on a bench and chatted and smooched as I battled the urge to run inside, take everyone hostage with my camera screeching "TAKE ME TO THE DOLPHINS NOW BITCHES!!... UH, PLEASE!!" Anyway, I successfully refrained from any illegal behavior, and once the remainder of the 8 participants had arrived, we made our way down to a little tiki hut at the back of the facility. The 12 dolphins (and 2 sea lions) at Dolphins Plus are housed in a blocked off canal adjacent to the Atlantic Ocean, thereby providing them with a natural seawater habitat. We then spent about 45 minutes learning about the different dolphins, as well as some basic rules for when we were actually in the water with them.

They then split us up into groups of two, and Ryan and I headed off with our trainer Megan, and our two dolphins Bella and Nica. Over the course of the next half hour, Ryan and I got to sing with the dolphins, whilst spinning in circles (I use the phrase "sing" loosely for myself, Bella and Nica), rub their backs and bellies, shake hands/fins and go "shopping" (whereby Megan sent Bella and Nica into the depths to bring us back whatever treasures they might find. Ryan got a nice chunk of rock. I... yes I... got a piece of sea grass.)

Megan then advised that she wanted to test our "driving skills". She had me hold onto a kick board, as the dolphins came up underneath me, and pushed me around in a big circle with their beaks. My kick board, however, was a flimsy piece of crap, so after Megan and her fellow trainer finished making fun of me, they provided Ryan with a much sturdier board.

As the dolphins pushed him around and he turned to make his way back towards me, he held the board up. As it turns out, it was not a kick board at all. Instead it was a sign that read:

"Meag,

Will you marry me?

Love,
Ryan"

I had expected when Ryan did ask me to marry him, that I would cry. But the crying I pictured in my head was the sort where you dab delicately at your eyes, while laughing a little and smiling prettily. Oh, y'all. That is totally not what happened. I burst into great braying sobs and as he came up next to me to hold me, I managed to gasp out "Yes! Yes!" (To be fair, Ryan, Megan, the photographer and the other trainer all got a little weepy too, although it was hardly the big snot-fest for them that it was for me. We've got pictures, guys. It must be said I do NOT look pretty when I cry.)

When planning the proposal, Ryan had asked the trainers when it would take place and they had told him near the end because once the girl sees the sign, she forgets all about the dolphins. And they were absolutely right because after some quick dolphin (and Ryan) kisses... my ass was out of the water and on dry land where Ryan got down on one knee and presented me with the ring. (Which I wouldn't let him actually put on me until we were safely away from the water. I had visions of me accidentally dropping the ring into the water, and desperately going "Fetch Bella! Fetch Nica!" and receiving instead a dead trout or something.)

Yesterday afternoon we came back to the apartment, made some phone calls, showered and changed, then headed out for an awesome dinner at Seasons 52 in downtown Ft. Lauderdale.

While the tears have stopped... the beaming hasn't... and I can't imagine a more perfect engagement story for us. Now the next goal (besides starting to actively plan the wedding tentatively estimated to take place some time between January and April of 2009) is to get used to saying "my fiance" instead of "my boyfriend"!