It was a day like any other. Woke up, went into work, made some paint, got some glitter on me, and returned home to tend to the dogs. Garrett was out of town for work, which meant I had to find a way to entertain myself so I wandered out to the mailbox to retrieve the mail. Curiously, there was something for him from the finance department of Kay Jewelers. Was he considering a surprise proposal? No way…I immediately set to explaining it away in my head and snapped a photo of it to send to him jokingly.
“Hey look, you’re pre-qualified for ANOTHER card!”
He shrugged it off and said he’s been getting emails from them for a long while now and it’s probably just a marketing piece, so I just set it aside with the rest of his mail and messaged my buddy Sam about it. Being in marketing herself, she explained how companies “cast wide nets on direct mailers since they’re cheap to send and the return is good in terms of customers we get back.” Makes sense, I suppose! So I went about the rest of my evening telling myself not to let my thoughts wander. But if you know me, this is pretty darn close to impossible!
A couple of days later, it was again a day just like any other in which I played with glitter and whipped up some paints, or so I thought…I received a text from Garrett informing me that he had safely landed back in Atlanta and would be heading home soon. He suggested that we hang out by the creek in our front yard to spend some time together considering he was away the whole week.
Cue suspicions…
“Okay Chelsea, keep your head straight. He’s been gone for a full week and just wants to spend some alone time together outside while Frank finishes up his work day inside. Don’t let your mind wander!”
He proceeded to ask what time I’ll be home and confirmed it a couple of more times, which isn’t fully normal but not exactly abnormal either. Over analyzing, right? So I turned to my other buddy Michael to ground me and my mind. My explanation about the mailer was met with his sassy “Dear diary, my bf got junk mail, I guess he’ll propose” remark…So I go on to explain that it wasn’t just the mailer, but a combination with his semi-strange behavior and the request to hang out by the creek when it had been raining for multiple days in a row. Clearly I’m just crazy because his second sassy retort was “Dear diary, my bf wants me to go outside with him. I guess he’s proposing”. Right, over analyzing, got it. Between Michael gas-lighting me, Sam’s explanation, and my attempts to prevent myself from expecting anything, I calmed my thoughts down and headed home.
As per usual, I was met by excited, jumping dogs and a loving boyfriend who all greeted me at the door. Garrett assisted me with putting my purse and keys away while I greeted the fur babies and informed me that he had taken the patio set bench out front for us to sit on rather than having us use the cement one, so we made our way out front. Sure enough, the cushioned bench stood ready right next to the beautiful babbling creek, surrounded by flowers and other lush plants. A light breeze blew through the trees beneath an overcast sky. All in all, it was a perfect day after many storms. We took our seats, which promptly caused the bench to sink about an inch into the mud; thank you mother nature for the week’s worth of rain…I curled up next to him and laid my head on his chest while I told him all about my day and asked about his trip home. He told me that he missed me, that he loves me very much, and that he wants to spend the rest of his life with me by his side, all sentiments that I absolutely shared. I told him that I felt the same way, which prompted him to stand up and say…
“Well then, I hope that means that you’ll say yes?” He pulled the ring box out of his pocket, got down on one knee, in the mud no less, and asked the question I thought I’d never hear again in my life; “Will you marry me?”
It was a surprise proposal (which I had almost ruined…) after all. I wasn’t crazy! Well…maybe I am, but just wasn’t imagining things like I had been led to believe. No hesitation, I grabbed his face, gave him a big kiss, and said “Yes, of course!” His shaking hands held the box in front of me while I let my eyes drift down to the gorgeous white gold ring consisting of a beautiful pear shaped diamond surrounded by sapphires and more diamonds. Breathless, I held out my own shaking hand as he slipped the ring on and kissed me again. I pulled him up back onto the bench and helped wipe off the wet, muddy stain on his knee all while trying to keep the tears of joy threatening to blur my vision out of my eyes. Best surprise proposal ever. It’s been a long, incredibly painful, bumpy, and difficult road for both of us, but I look forward to spending the rest of my life with the man who patiently and tenderly taught me how to love and trust again; my handsome fiancé, Garrett!
Garrett later informed me that Sam and Michael both promptly messaged him once I contacted them and they worked together to throw me off, sharing some of the amusing messages with me while I rolled my eyes and thought “oh, of course.” It also turns out that while my parents were at our house the previous weekend for the Father’s Day grill out we hosted, he managed to ask both of them for their blessing. While my mom and I had ventured out into the front yard to discuss some ideas for changes, Garrett had stayed behind in the kitchen to ask my dad for his permission to ask me to be his wife. He was met with a yes, so long as he promised to take care of me. Post dinner, my dad wanted to find another route back home so I guided him upstairs to my computer for some Google Maps exploration. Garrett again took advantage of my naivety and absence, turning to my mom and asking for her permission as well. Once again, he was met with a yes. After seeing how he treated me throughout the entire duration of our relationship, as well as how he treats my family members, I am not surprised in the least that he was not met with trouble!
On top of him asking for permission from both of my parents while I was under the same roof (or at least on the same property), he had also done all of this while the ring was stored right under my nose in the very room I am in daily. There was a Persona 5 Royal box in which he had removed the figurines from and displayed them on his shelves, something I had noted a few days prior but didn’t think too much of. The ring box sat inside this game’s box for about a week on a shelf I saw daily! Good thing I’m not a snooper…
Days later we were cooking in the kitchen joking about the whole changing my last name situation and I said laughing, “Why don’t you just take my last name instead!” He turned to me, completely serious, and said “No, seriously, I’ve been wanting to.” It appears that my father has taken on the dad role for Garrett so much, and my family has been so accepting and gracious that he wanted to take on our last name rather than me take his. My family and I are incredibly humbled and honored at Garrett’s decision and none of us take it lightly. We hope you are able to join us in celebrating the newest Perry member on October 22, 2022 and we cannot wait to come together as Mr. and Mrs. Garrett Perry!
