Our courtship, to say the least, has definitely been an interesting, if not a winding, journey. We have so far managed to survive being separated early on by months of William's Army Training and homecoming (to which I have a box of love letters as testement), life with pets, the separation of close friends, and the death of someone we both loved dearly. Much more recently, we are in the middle of surviving a deployment overseas, and counting down the days until he's back home in Saint Louis.
We entered this thing knowing that the pursuit of marriage was in our hearts, with just the hope that we had found that right person. It was always a topic of conversation as we discovered the persons behind the smiles, kisses, and hugs, and the beauty of our deepest beings in rain or in shine.
At our early Spring one year anniversary of dating, it is safe to know that William
knew, and so that year he gave me the promise of something great to come if I only would have the patience for it, which he sealed with a Claddagh promise ring over a romantic dinner at The Scottish Arms bar and restaurant. But this was only a promise, so I waited, not so patiently for our next year's anniversary-of-dating, because as much as I might try at it, I'm not that patient. Well, that next year, no ring came just yet. Instead, he gave me the word:
Let's Go to Ireland!
Those were not the words I was expecting, honestly. But little did I know, it was all part of a grander scheme.
Only months prior, William received the news that his unit was indeed mobilizing for deployment overseas at President Obama's orders. It was heart breaking, but we were given the time to prepare, mentally and emotionally for the stress to come. There was one major concern on William's mind, though: the fact that unless something was done quickly, this deployment would be his first trip out of the country. ever. Which of course, coincided with the amorphous unknowing of what the future would hold for us.
My first worry, of course, was money. He had big ideas, but where was the follow through? For weeks and weeks I was left wondering....is this trip really happening? And yet, true to William's form, he was able to pull magic out of the last minute, and our plane landed in Dublin, Ireland in late June.
It was an amazing trip. There are few places in the world so green and so friendly toward Americans, and everywhere we went we were able to make fast friends. Since this was a true vacation from the chaos of life, we simply rented a car (which William was able to master driving on the left side of the road with!) and we drove to where our hearts guided us. My only requirement was to see the ever famous ancient Illuminated Manuscript: The Book of Kells, which was on display at Trinity College in Dublin. Yet, we also visited the Guinness Stockhouse, Saint Brigid's Cathedral in Kildare, The Rock of Cashel in the middle-of-nowhere, the Jameson Distillery in Middleton, the town of Cobh (formally Queenstown, formally Cove), we skipped Blarney....the world's most unhygienic tourist attraction in favor of heading to a little place which has been described by a close friend as 'heaven-on-earth': the Dingle Peninsula, where we explored ancient Christian ruins and swam in a freezing cold Atlantic Ocean. At each place we visited, the hosts at our bed n breakfasts also introduced us to the marvelously interesting local fare, which was the hearty start our days required.
William's only required site of preference, excluding the places his favorite alcohols were distilled, was The Cliffs of Moher, one of Ireland's most breathtaking shorelines, as well as one of its most windy. We raced against the clock to visit it on out last day prior to checking in at our hotel that night, (which was also a castle!) and made the climb from the car-park (that's Irish English for parking lot) to the vast expanse of cliffs overlooking the eastern shores of the great Atlantic Ocean. Nervously, he clutched his sweater, while he let me wear his windbreaker, yet I was oblivious. Eventually, we found a secluded spot, void of people for the moment, at just looked out over the ocean in our mesmerized state. He turned to me for a second, attempting to be smooth, and asked me.
"So, what did you wish for back at Kildare?"
I guess I should explain that one. One of the cornerstones of Saint Brigid's Cathedral in Kildare, which we spent a substantial amount of time at on our third day in Ireland, has a hole in it. This, we were told by the keepers, was a wishing stone. All one has to do is put their arms through it and touch their opposing shoulder. I did in fact, just for fun, do this.
However, I wasn't going to tell anyone what I wished for, so responded to his question with a rather snarky "none of your business....," which ruined his line just a bit.
William kept leading me, then, to sit down, relax a bit, at a stone bench behind us. Something was up. He was nervous. To calm him I let him know that I wished for simple, "happiness in all things." Then it came. He bent down on one knee. And ever so formerly.....asked me "Kathryn Jaklitsch......I would like to make all your wishes come true for the rest of our lives. Will you marry me?"
I nearly choked. With surprise. With Joy. So stuck I was that I had trouble even talking, all I wanted to do was just cry tears of joy. Instead, I looked at him, probably like a dear in headlights as he waited for over a minute for my answer, which was not a yes, but a choking "OF COURSE!"
Then he slipped the diamond ring on my finger, a classically simply solitaire that sparkles like your wouldn't believe, and we rushed on in our rented Nissan Micra to the Castle for the night. On account of some extremely windblown hair, we missed dinner, but wound up toasting our engagement in the cocktail lounge with a beautiful couple celebrating their 30th Wedding Anniversary that very night. We have the 'Fields of Athenry' to blame for that bonding experience, actually.
After the flight home, which included an adventure stuck in the JFK airport, we broke the news to my parents over dinner, which considering my Dad was an experience in nerves. We also decided a longer engagement was better in lieu of the deployment.....to allow us time to do this right, with both our families behind us, setting us at a two year engagement in the end.
Now we look forward to a special day, coming soon.
Oh, and only in Ireland, can you see THIS on the side of the road: 800 year old castle.....FOR SALE.
