Three Years Ago

"The man who finds a wife finds a treasure, and he receives favor from the Lord." (Proverbs 18:22)

I'm posting the above verse to commemorate the third anniversary of the day I asked Lauren to be my wife. Solomon knew what he was talking about.

For those who haven't heard the story, here it is. My sister Marcie and cousin Abby had agreed to be my accomplices. So as Lauren and I strolled the mall, they busied themselves stringing lights and placing candles around my house. My plan was to eat somewhere nice, like P.F. Changs. But we were too hungry to wait for an hour plus, so we chose the next best thing: Wendy's.

As our meal of bacon cheeseburgers and frosties wound down, I made a strategic phone call from the bathroom to alert the girls we were on our way. They made their exit, Lauren was surprised, and everything else went according to plan. Except for one detail.

As I knelt down to place the ring on my new fiance's finger, I rested my elbow on the table. And as she said "Yes" and moved to give me a kiss, I noticed a strangely warm sensation. I dismissed it for a moment, not wanting to interrupt the romantic mood. But as we kissed, I detected the faint smell of smoke and realized that my sweater had caught fire from a tea-candle next to my arm. I jumped to my feet and doused the flame, but not before it had a left a hole two inches across.

There was an awkward pause, and we both laughed about it. I've never caught fire before, so it's hard to believe it would happen at that particular moment. Oh well. I guess when you find a treasure, a burnt sweater is no big deal.