On Thursday, December 22nd I was able to be part of something so special, it still gives me chills. My best friend Stephanie got engaged! We've been friend for 23+ years and have never had an argument, we are as close as two friends can be. Her boyfriend of almost three years had contacted me this past summer about getting some information out of her about types of engagement ring she would like. I had a mission, I was so excited for her, and that night after going out to dinner I dragged her to the mall and told her I wanted to look at rings "in case" Steve (my husband) ever wanted to upgrade mine. She of course pointed out rings that she would love and I contacted her boyfriend Mike that night and he started on the designing of it. He then contacted me another time before I was to go out with her and asked me to fish around for the type of proposal that she would like. It was easy to get her talking and I soon knew that she wanted something "grand" and she wanted her kids there too (she has 3 kids from a previous marriage). I again relayed this information to her boyfriend and he put a plan together.
I emailed her about going to NYC for a "girls day" to get in the Christmas spirit right before Christmas, she was in and excited, she had never seen the tree at Rockerfeller before (little did she know how her life would change under that tree) and she was very excited. We made a list of things we wanted to do that day and met at the train station for the two hour ride into Grand Central Station. I had to tell several lies along the way, I told her I'd drive her home after (even though I had been dropped off at the train station), I told her we should buy one way tickets since we didn't know what time we'd be leaving the city (even though Steve and the kids were meeting me in the city later that night and I was spending the night).
I had decided to put the engagement out of my mind and really enjoy my girls day. It was pretty easy, although I had to text a lot with her boyfriend as he was on his way into the city with her kids and her Dad (knowing this was so exciting)! We went to Macy's, Times Square, to the Top of the Rock, and Saint Patrick's Cathedral. It really was a super fun day!
After all that it was "finally" time for the plan to be put into motion. Her boyfriend had bought the engagement package at the Rockerfeller Ice Rink and part of it was two VIP tickets to skate. The tickets were for 4:30 - 6:00, and even though I am not a fan of ice skating, I was super excited (as was Stephanie) to skate at Rockerfeller, it's such an iconic place, it was amazing to be there. The only hiccup was that Mike was at the ice house where we needed to go to get our skates with her family, I had to stay clear and Stephanie wanted to skate! Through many texts I knew I had to stall her, I told her I forgot I needed to go to the NBC store and she agreed to go, but wanted to be quick so we could skate... I had to stall! I took as much time as I could at the store, but it still wasn't good enough, the coast wasn't clear yet. So I told her I "really" had to use the bathroom, and then hid in a stall until Mike texted me that we were all set. Stephanie was a trooper, I know how much she wanted to go skating and she was very patient with me.
We were then able to get our skates and bypass the long lines and headed onto the ice. I was so afraid of falling and hurting my back that I stayed near the edges. It truly was magical being on the ice, listening to the Christmas music, and looking up at the tree. I kept watching the time, it went by so slow. Knowing that something so amazing was about to happen to her was driving me nutty (although she says she had no idea, guess I am a great liar).
Anyway, it was 5:50, ten minutes left and I was about to jump out of my skin! Finally it was 6:00 and they told everyone to clear the ice as the session was over.
I had to stall her again, we had to be the last ones on the ice! She kept saying it's time to get off, I told her I wanted to stay on the ice and soak up the moment, that I wanted to be the last one's off the ice, she said we were going to get yelled at! Finally there was an announcement, it was her boyfriends voice saying, "New York we have an announcement for you...." and I looked at her and said, "what did that say", she didn't recognize the voice! Then a Brad Paisley song came on (her and her boyfriends song) and she looked at me totally confused... And then it happened (in my head I was shouting "finally") her boyfriend came across the ice and skated over to us. Imagine her surprise, she though he was home three hours away with her kids (which of course was her first question, "where are the kids"?). He took her hand and skated over to the entrance of the ice and she saw her family standing there. I grabbed my camera and started taking pictures. It all went by so fast, but seeing him get down on one knee and propose to her in front of thousands of people in such a grand way, it brought tears to my eyes! It was one of my favorite moments ever, and I was so happy to have been part of it. She of course said, YES (she actually said of course) and the crowd cheered! The shock of it all took days to wear off on her and it's a moment that will make her smile forever and ever (and that makes me smile).
There's video too...
I emailed her about going to NYC for a "girls day" to get in the Christmas spirit right before Christmas, she was in and excited, she had never seen the tree at Rockerfeller before (little did she know how her life would change under that tree) and she was very excited. We made a list of things we wanted to do that day and met at the train station for the two hour ride into Grand Central Station. I had to tell several lies along the way, I told her I'd drive her home after (even though I had been dropped off at the train station), I told her we should buy one way tickets since we didn't know what time we'd be leaving the city (even though Steve and the kids were meeting me in the city later that night and I was spending the night).
I had decided to put the engagement out of my mind and really enjoy my girls day. It was pretty easy, although I had to text a lot with her boyfriend as he was on his way into the city with her kids and her Dad (knowing this was so exciting)! We went to Macy's, Times Square, to the Top of the Rock, and Saint Patrick's Cathedral. It really was a super fun day!
After all that it was "finally" time for the plan to be put into motion. Her boyfriend had bought the engagement package at the Rockerfeller Ice Rink and part of it was two VIP tickets to skate. The tickets were for 4:30 - 6:00, and even though I am not a fan of ice skating, I was super excited (as was Stephanie) to skate at Rockerfeller, it's such an iconic place, it was amazing to be there. The only hiccup was that Mike was at the ice house where we needed to go to get our skates with her family, I had to stay clear and Stephanie wanted to skate! Through many texts I knew I had to stall her, I told her I forgot I needed to go to the NBC store and she agreed to go, but wanted to be quick so we could skate... I had to stall! I took as much time as I could at the store, but it still wasn't good enough, the coast wasn't clear yet. So I told her I "really" had to use the bathroom, and then hid in a stall until Mike texted me that we were all set. Stephanie was a trooper, I know how much she wanted to go skating and she was very patient with me.
We were then able to get our skates and bypass the long lines and headed onto the ice. I was so afraid of falling and hurting my back that I stayed near the edges. It truly was magical being on the ice, listening to the Christmas music, and looking up at the tree. I kept watching the time, it went by so slow. Knowing that something so amazing was about to happen to her was driving me nutty (although she says she had no idea, guess I am a great liar).
Anyway, it was 5:50, ten minutes left and I was about to jump out of my skin! Finally it was 6:00 and they told everyone to clear the ice as the session was over.
I had to stall her again, we had to be the last ones on the ice! She kept saying it's time to get off, I told her I wanted to stay on the ice and soak up the moment, that I wanted to be the last one's off the ice, she said we were going to get yelled at! Finally there was an announcement, it was her boyfriends voice saying, "New York we have an announcement for you...." and I looked at her and said, "what did that say", she didn't recognize the voice! Then a Brad Paisley song came on (her and her boyfriends song) and she looked at me totally confused... And then it happened (in my head I was shouting "finally") her boyfriend came across the ice and skated over to us. Imagine her surprise, she though he was home three hours away with her kids (which of course was her first question, "where are the kids"?). He took her hand and skated over to the entrance of the ice and she saw her family standing there. I grabbed my camera and started taking pictures. It all went by so fast, but seeing him get down on one knee and propose to her in front of thousands of people in such a grand way, it brought tears to my eyes! It was one of my favorite moments ever, and I was so happy to have been part of it. She of course said, YES (she actually said of course) and the crowd cheered! The shock of it all took days to wear off on her and it's a moment that will make her smile forever and ever (and that makes me smile).
AMAZING!
There's video too...
No comments:
Post a Comment