Surprising the woman who can't be surprised.
You know you always envision what the day you get engaged will look like -- your nails are done, your hair is perfectly fixed, and you've got a cute outfit on. I'm sure you've looked at the photos before you even started reading this and thought, "This woman has reindeer antlers on and a Christmas light necklace, I could never!" Hang with me and you'll learn why this wasn't the perfectly pictured engagement people are used to seeing, and you'll understand also why it couldn't be more perfect for these two.
Some back story on this couple -- they first met in kindergarten in 1998. They're both driven to be the best in anything they do, and that includes one upping each other any chance they get in their relationship. Anything from gifts to pranks, they compete on who will win the title of "The Best". They even both still argue on who won the foot race in kindergarten. Because of this competitiveness, it's next to impossible to surprise Kristy.
The Plan
For three weeks I helped Michael try to pull off this special, planned out engagement at beautiful Top of the Rock. I pretty much had to avoid Kristy for those three weeks -- I can't lie because I have no poker face and I knew she was suspicious. This woman's intuition is incredible and if she asked me she would immediately know.
They were taking a family trip just before Christmas and he knew it would be perfect. They would be surrounded by their loved ones and dressed up and all the things every girl hopes for when she gets engaged. I would be hiding in the shadows waiting for the moment and I even went so far as to plan on driving a vehicle she's never seen before so I wouldn't tip her off. I reached out to the woman who does both of our nails because we've discussed it several times, Kristy always goes classic on her nails but before she gets engaged she'll decide on a whim to do something crazy. I told Makayla, "It's finally time, don't let her get reindeer or something. She's getting engaged." We thought we had a solid plan.
The first time I knew she knew, was when she said she wasn't getting her nails done. I panicked and texted Makayla and said "I busted a nail, emergency. Call me asap. 💍 🚑." Kristy was already at the salon and I had to warn Makayla so she wouldn't panic either, but if Kristy saw her phone she would know. Makayla text me after and said crisis averted, she walked in and said let's do the usual. She even called the nails "wedding nails". Confirmed -- she knows.
For the next several days she's spending time talking about rings and weddings and all the things. I keep telling Michael, this is Kristy wanting you to give away the surprise. If you want to surprise her, stay strong and don't tell her. Long story short, she ended up calling his bluff and he spilled the beans.
He calls me the Sunday before their trip and tells me the new plan -- we're moving things up to Tuesday, because she knows it's coming now. He's hatched this plan to surprise her at work during her planning period. No way is she going to figure it out now. She'll never suspect that he's going to propose to her at school. No one does that on any old Tuesday. We'll sneak in and she'll never know!
Today's the day!
It's go time -- the day has finally arrived. We've all coordinated to meet at the school a little before 10:00 am. The school secretary and several other teachers are in on the plan and helping to sneak myself, Michael, Gracie and Connie in. Obviously, nerves are starting to set in, but we're this close to pulling it off! It's really happening and she has no idea this time!
We make it to her classroom and start to get set for her to come down -- her principal had called her to the office to discuss a few things and bought us a few extra minutes, or so we thought. She overhead someone in the office say "Michael who?" as we were sneaking in and as soon as she heard that, it was done, she was running down the hall before we even knew what was going on. She knew what was coming and she just couldn't wait, not even to set her crock pot down or take off her reindeer antlers. The girls in the office did their best to stop her, but there's no stopping someone who knows the rest of their life is just right down the hallway.
While this is going on, I'm working to get my camera set up and in a good position. I look over to see Michael's face as he starts to laugh at whatever he's seen out the door and I hear Kristy squeal. Our cover is blown again -- she comes bounding into the room with a massive crock pot in her hands. She's nearly levitating she's so excited and saying "YES!" before she even gets to Michael and Gracie. Miss Gracie asks Kristy so sweetly if she would marry her daddy and hands her a rose -- cue the water works. Michael goes into a beautiful speech and with shaky hands pulls out the ring and places it on her finger. The answer is of course, "Yes."
Here's to forever.
While this is probably the most unconventional engagement story I've ever heard, and probably will ever be apart of, it couldn't have been more perfect for Kristy and Michael. Will he ever be able to pull off a surprise for her, who knows? They've got 60+ years to keep trying to surprise each other, as well as support and love one another through it all. Here's to forever and lifetime of almost surprises.
