One small step, one giant leap

It’s not everyday that we take big strides in our lives.  Sure, there’s the occasional double-hobble step we take every once in a while, but it’s not very often that we get to encounter something so big and so awesome that we know it will change our life forever.

I may have quadruple-hobbled a couple weeks ago.  No…not may have: DEFINITELY quadruple-hobbled.

I asked Rosanna to marry me.

And if Nostradamus were here, he would have certainly seen this coming.  He would have known before I did that I would take that step.  And I tell you what: I’m glad I did.  So far, it has opened my eyes to one of the biggest moments in any relationship that man and a woman can take together: UNCONDITIONAL COMMITMENT.

That’s what I want to focus on for the next few minutes here is that last phrase in that last paragraph.

I have a lot of friends from high school, college, church, and other walks of life that are married.  Some have been married for years, others were just married not too long ago.  Every couple I know has a different perspective on how marriage should be done.  That’s good to one extent but it really gives me a lot to think about on another.  It makes it difficult for me to look at any one couple as an example and use their relationship as a starting point.

But the one common theme with every couple I know that is married is that there is this unconditional commitment that makes them work.  On the surface, they all look happy.  And I’m sure they have their down days.  But the one thing I can say for certain among all of my married friends is that they all started their lives together with commitment in mind.

I want that.  I always have.  I’ve seen how happy people can be when they unconditionally commit themselves to each other.  I see that as putting me even one more step closer to my Maker and being truly happy and satisfied in this life.

And I know she wants it, too.  Rosanna is the kind of girl that gives all that she has to please any and everybody and she deserves this.  She deserves to be happy…

…to have the white picket fence.

…to have the two dogs and kids playing in the yard.

What blows my mind about this very special time in my life right now is that God has me and her positioned in this moment PERFECTLY.  He knew how I was going to ask her.  He knew when I was going to ask her.  He knew that I would even ask her.

It feels perfect.  It feels like that moment when…

…well, you’re gonna have to wait.

Stay in touch with me tomorrow for part 2.  That’s gonna be the good stuff.

mbc

IM and a trip to Vegas

So it’s been 2 years now since I took that fateful trip to Las Vegas.  And to offer you some backstory, here’s how the whole thing went down.

Up until this point, I had the best job in the whole universe.  I was a sales trainer for a Fortune 500 mortgage company whose culture and atmosphere was congruent with my personality.  I had my ups and downs, but all in all that place was killer!  I loved it!

Then one day, The Man (who was Canadian, ironically enough) came along and decided that I no longer belonged at this company.  It came as a surprise to everyone because they all agreed that I could have been the self-appointed poster child of this great company.  But alas, I fell short of gaining that title.

That’s not the only place I fell short.  Soon after my release from the Q, the girl I was dating decided that she would rather have a guy give her everything she need instead of supporting her newly jobless mate.  Pile that on top of losing a great job and bingo: you’re gonna spend all your hard earned retirement money to wild and crazy things.  Well, they weren’t THAT wild OR crazy, but I just wouldn’t do them any normal day of the week.

Here’s the deal: I took some money out of my 401k and took a quick getaway to visit a friend in L.A.  I flew in to Vegas because it was cheaper.  That’s not the important part, though.  The good stuff happens before and after the short trip.

Before I left (single, let me remind you) I was browsing the pages of MySpace and came across a young lady that had been in one of my training classes at Quicken Loans.  I remembered her face but didn’t really spend a whole lot of time talking to her outside of the class.  There wasn’t any need.  She was a good student in the training and didn’t need a whole lot of my attention.  Plus, at that time I was seeing someone and didn’t notice girls other than that one.

I sent her a message on MySpace to the tune of “Hey…how’s it going?  Hope all is well with you.  Nothing special.  Just Brett being his good old self.  But what I saw when I got back would be something absolutely astonishing and wonderful.

“OH MY GOSH!  HOW ARE YOU?  SINGLE YET?”

And I have to admit that it was quite nice to receive this response.  I was so miserable and lonely, the attention that this young lady gave me was welcomed immensely.  It was nice to be noticed.

So naturally, the conversation progressed into arranging to meet up, hang out, and just generally be social.  And that it was.  Our first date was to see “I Now Pronounce You Chuck & Larry.”  It’s a funny movie and I will confess to you that I was a gentleman the ENTIRE time we were at the theatre.  We went from there to Champps and enjoyed martinis together while we witness Barry Bonds hit his * home run.

The rest is history.

I met her folks.

She met mine.

And two years later an instant message and Vegas changed my life.

mbc

Sugar, spice, and everything nice

A beautiful girl, a salad, and 2 years of my life that have now become such wonderful history.

I’ve talked about her many times before: Rosanna. Yep…she WAS in fact named after a Toto song and she’s every bit spunky as classic rock and roll tune. You can read previous posts to find out how crazy in love I am with her.

But I need to mention her this time around to make the equation work.

She made a salad for me last night that was healthy, tasty, and full of love. And this is just a perfect example of the love that she has for me. It’s the little things that make a big difference and the little things she has done have truly shown me that she is serious about me.

And I am about her.

So that’s why I want the world to know that I think it’s time. It wasn’t just because of a salad but all the salads in the past have added up to this day.

It’ll all go down on the Lord’s day. Of course, every day is the Lord’s day and this definitely qualifies as everything nice.

Wish me luck for a “yes.”