The proposal...Part 1

7 July 2007 (7/7/2007) was the day that I proposed to Laura!

Unfortunately, it wasn't the most romantic of proposals as I was half falling asleep on the bed while Laura was watching TV.

Going back a few steps, let's start from the beginning:

It's been a long time since Laura and I had gone on a weekend away. It's been rather difficult these past few months due to a number of unfortunate events. However, we did finally manage to arrange for a weekend aways to Clarens, a small town in the Free State province, about 4 hrs out of JHB.

We were to leave on the Friday and return on Sunday. I called Laura's dad the Thursday evening before to ask for his permission. Now, before I get criticised for asking via a telephone, let me remind you that Laura's folks stay in Kimberley! I had been down a few times before (the most recent was 2 weeks since them), but chickened out each time! So much for those "nerves of steel", conditioned from years of martial arts training! Even on the phone, asking Mr King for his daughter's hand in marriage was harder than facing a foul-mood Tony Sensei in a kendo keiko (and those are painful, usually resulting in bruised ribs, arms, wrists and head)!

Just to give you an idea, I had been planning to ask her since November 2006! I had bought a diamond then and was going to ask her in the new year. But, as mentioned earlier, there were a number of unfortunate events that occurred that just delayed 'the proposal'.

Knowing how fussy Laura was, I decided not to make an engagement ring for her, but rather give her a token ring and the diamond. My mom was happy to supply a token ring (that is actually very nice) and a purple, heart-shapped box to hold it in!

Anyway, with her father's approval, a token ring and the actual diamond, I was all revved up for 'the proposal'!

However, on arrival in Clarens, I soon realised that the town was nice, but not exactly what I had in mind for a romantic setting. Nevertheless, I was determined!

The Saturday day prior to 'the proposal', we went about town and did some shopping. It was very quaint and kish, but very touristy. We did find a nice restaurant to have dinner that evening and I thought I would use that opportunity to do 'the proposal'.

On the big night at the restaurant, we had a lovely dinner. The ambiance was really nice, other than the fact that we had a table of 2 Afrikaans couples behind us. The guys at that table were so loud and vulgar that it just totally ruined any possible moment for 'the proposal'. So, that was a no-no.

Anyway, once done with dinner, I asked Laura is she wanted to walk around the park for a little while, but being a rather chilly night, she said no and we headed back to the B&B.

So, back at the b&b, we settled down to watch some TV. I went to the bed and put my head down. Now, for those who know me, I am known for my low-resistance to the gravitational pull of my eye-lids, especially after a meal..... I was falling asleep!

I had to stay focused!!!

I called Laura over to the bed (still lying down) and mumbled something to her that sounded like "vudowmaggyhee??" I think she must've made it out cause she started prodding me to wake up! Anyway, when I "woke up", I spend the next 30 minutes trying to convince her that I was serious in my proposal and that it wasn't some demented-bachelor's nightmare!

Finally, she succumbed to my charming puppy-dog eyes (falling asleep again??) and said 'yes'!

And the rest, as one would say, is history....!