Ian is a truly wonderful man, but no matter how many hints and nudges I gave him, he never really understood the disappointment that had seeded deep inside me and ate away at me over the years. Anniversary after anniversary came and went and my desire to have my husband before me on bended knee presenting me with a ring got stronger and stronger. My lack of proposal became a 'thing' between us! The more I wanted it, the more scared Ian became of doing it. The elephant in the room taunted me as my ring finger felt more and more naked with each passing year.
Before I was with Ian, I had been engaged three times. I was a serial fiancee, but not with the man I really, truly loved. My only memories of engagements were tainted by the fact they involved the wrong man. I needed to put this right to complete my love story. Everytime an engagement was portrayed on TV, I felt like I had missed out on the most magical moment of a girl's life. Poor Ian really got numerous ear bashings as I'd say "Do you remember when you asked me to marry you? Oh no, of course you don't, because you never even asked me!!!" When the kids asked about the story of me and Ian getting together there was a big part missing...where was the romance???
Poor Ian. If only he'd whipped out an H.Samuel's box 15 years ago our life would have been perfect. Ian is my soul mate, the man I will spend every day of the rest of my life with. He has completed me and given me everything I've ever wanted. Except for this one thing. And he has simply not been able to rectify it. It made me so frustrated!!!!
Then, this year, Christmas Day 2011, my husband made it all right.
Ian started to play his guitar. I recognised the opening bars of the song he had written for me some years ago when I complained that there wasn't any love songs ever written with my name in it. "Hey Wendy!" totally fixed that and gave me my very own song. Suddenly my three daughters jumped up in front of the Christmas tree. As Ian played and sang my song, my girls did a brilliant synchronised dance routine that had me laughing and crying in equal amounts. Suddenly, Ian leapt up and got down in front of me on one knee, doing the one thing I'd been waiting for since 1996! Inside a gold ring box was a beautiful white gold engagement ring with a cluster of seven diamonds...one for each member of our family. It looked great with my eternity ring and the sentiment was just perfect. I couldn't have picked a nicer ring for myself...he knows me so well.
This was the best present ever! The missing piece of the puzzle of our life together. I am now Ian's Fiancee Wife! Who says you have to do things in order...we throw convention to the wind! It was a beautiful moment witnessed by all my family including my parents who loved every moment of it. They knew how much it meant to me and were as overjoyed as if it had happened when we first got together all those years ago.
What an amazing Christmas I have had this year! I hope everyone else have had their dreams come true too.