How We Became ‘The Turtle Family’

I’m a sentimental gal.  I think being sentimental and emotional sometimes- more often than not – go hand in hand.  I learned a long time ago to embrace the fact that I was an emotional gal.  It was only in my 30’s that I learned how to control my emotions but I will tell you that answering this call to blog has reminded me how sentimental I am.

In my post earlier this week, I told you how Steven and I never really ‘dated’ … and that didn’t much change after he professed his love to me that day in April.  The big change from that day, over the summer, was that we didn’t spend time with anyone else.  We became mutually exclusive in our friendships with members of the opposite sex.  We fell back into the routine of me doing my laundry at his house and helping Maverick with his homework while we waited for him to get home from work.

I recall a very serious conversation we had about ‘defining what we were’ to each other that July.  Steven had asked me ‘Do you think we’ll change?’ And I had responded ‘Of course we will.  The hope is that we will change together.’  Personally, I think that may have been a fork in the road moment for him.  We’ve never really talked about it specifically but it was just one of those moments that stood out to me – forever.

That fall, on my birthday, my friend Susie took me shopping because Steven wanted to take me to dinner.  I remember Susie telling me that she wanted to help me find something cute to wear because she was certain he would ask me to marry him.  I remember very succinctly telling her she was crazy because that was not going to happen.  It was too obvious.  ‘He won’t do it because he knows I would expect it tonight’ I told her.  I really, truly, did not believe that it was going to happen.

Boy was I wrong.  We went to Logans Roadhouse for dinner. There’s a story there, too, lol, but … for another day! Anyhow, 3rd booth in to the right.  That’s our booth now.  He gave me this super sweet card and at the bottom it said ‘will you marry me?’ And when I looked up, he had my engagement ring on his pinky finger.  I was floored.  He told me later that he knew I would think he’d never do it that night … so he did.  It was a great night!

That was a Thursday night.  Maverick came back to us the next evening.  When he got home, Steven told him that we were going to get married.  I’ll never forget that moment.  He looked right up at his daddy, with a huge smile and said (in his VERY southern accent) ‘It’s about time, daddy, you’re slow as a turtle!’

And we’ve been turtles ever since!