I always assumed that I'd be well warned and prepared for the day he popped the question.
You know, because I knew him so well that I'd pick up on any secrets in a jiffy!
WRONG!!!! I was taken completely off guard!!
But first let's go back a step.
In the 2 weeks leading up to the proposal, we'd been helping Phuong's cousin plan and then celebrate her big day!
I remember watching & at times even feeling the stress that the engaged couple were going through when it came to their planning, as much as they tried to hide it.
Their wedding went off without a hitch, but even then, it still left me feeling overwhelmed with the whole "getting married" business.
So much so that I was whinging to Phuong for most of the following week about how awful the wedding planning process was. GOSH!! It was definately stress I could do without.
All that running around & then trying to tell everyone what they need to do or say, not to mention the gown, the hair, makeup shoes, flowers etc etc etc!!
Phuong took all this in his stride and umm'd & ahh'd where he needed to & pointing out that the stress just seemed more intense because it was all done in such a short time frame. Ahhh, I felt better now after I'd had that little venting session.
Now fast forward 1 week to May 20th 2010
I met Phuong at the station as usual so we could make our way home from work together. Someone called Phuong while we were still in transit, but I just assumed it was one of his boys. All I remembered hearing was him telling the person on the other end of the line "I'll come pick it up tomorrow". No alarm bells there..
Phuong was abit weird after we got home. I even caught him standing in the door frame while I was brushing my teeth just giving me a goofy smile. My first reaction to that was "OK, what did you do??" his reply "nothing" followed by lots of laughing as he walks away.
My gut was telling me he had a nice pressie for me, as our 4 year anniversary was coming up that weekend. You know dinner, maybe even new coat or something along those lines.
Now we're lying in bed and just chatting about nothing important really, when all of a SUDDEN, Phuongs leaps out of the bed like he's been bitten!
He gets down on one knee & then blurts out "I haven't got the ring yet, but I'll be picking it up tomorrow, will you marry me?". I don't think he even took a breathe because he said it so FAST!
Now I was a bit slow here. For some reason my head translated all that to "we're just discussing marriage like all couples do at some stage & that was all. The idea that he was proposing didn't hit me right away.
I said "Of course" & went quiet as all the pieces started coming together in my head like a jigsaw puzzle.
Now it was my turn to start asking questions.
Me - Did you just say that you're picking up the ring tommorow?
Phuong - Yes
Me - Are you serious?? You're not just pulling my leg??
Phuong - Of course i'm serious!!
Me - Does that mean we're officially engaged?
Phuong - YES!
Queue blubbering, laughing and more blubbering from me.
Then it dawned on me, he must have been planning all this while i'd been mouthing off about how i didn't want to go through the wedding planning stress. OMG! How callous of me!
Turns out he'd been planning it for about 6 months. Secret lunchtime visits to Gregory Jewellers to pick the diamonds & the setting.
I think all my whinging about wedding's would have been enough to deter any normal guy from proposing.
Lucky for me Phuong's not just any guy!