on making it official

i love g, there's no doubt about it. we've certainly matured in our relationship, through traveling, moving in together, and seeing each other at our highest and lowest. we made a commitment months ago - that through the foggiest and clearest of days, we would love each other unconditionally. months ago, g and i started talking about marriage.

it was then that i had already said yes. yes to sorting through his laundry. yes to giving him a bite of my treat. yes to waking up when he gets home late at night to hear about his day. when we talked about marriage, i was saying yes to being a lifetime companion to the man i love.

to express this faithfulness to g, i didn't need an ambush or stadium jumbo-tron, nor did i need him kneeling on a knee under the eiffel tower. all i needed, and will ever need, is his love in return.

fast-forward to september 29, 2013. g, chase, and i set out for paso robles for a short getaway. not only did we seek respite from the daily grind, but we also had to stock up on wine for the upcoming season. we stayed in a charming guest house atop a hill in the countryside. the night we arrived, we sat on the deck for hours, heedless of the cold as the blanket of stars above wrapped us in their illuminating warmth. i eventually made my way inside, tucked into bed, and began reading the tao of pooh. g followed shortly after and laid beside me. as i read, i came across these lines:

"well, an old taoist saying puts it this way: 'a thousand-mile journey starts with one step.' so i think that we will start at the beginning..."

g and i then started talking about our journey together and how it has taken one step at a time to move forward. our first out-of-town trip. meeting the family. crying together. raising a dog. at that point, 10:30 pm on september 29th, we locked hands and sealed them with a kiss as we took another step forward in our lifetime as one: with a tangible symbol on my finger, we announced that we were engaged.

the rest of the trip, we continued to do our thing: drinking wine, chatting up a storm, and crossing our fingers that just perhaps, we might win the lotto (and move abroad and build a house and never work again)! 

public announcement or not, i will love g in a way i can hardly comprehend, and i will continue to say yes to that kind of intensity until the end of time.