It had been so long since Ryan and I had gone anywhere just the two of us, and we agreed that we probably needed to have some time away from it all…a romantic weekend if you will. So we packed our bag and got the dog’s things together and headed out. After we dropped Kit off at my parents for the weekend, we started the long drive to St. Louis.

St. Louis, and more specifically Union Station, has a special significance to me and Ryan because it’s where we got engaged. It was just a little over four years ago that Ryan proposed to me there. We had got tickets to the St. Louis Blues hockey game for the weekend after Thanksgiving and the rink was just down the street from Union Station so Ryan had gotten us a room there.

Here’s a little bit of background information. Ryan and I had been together for three years and had been talking about marriage for a long time. We’d agreed June was the latest date for a proposal to give us enough time to plan a wedding so we could be married after I graduated.

So on the drive down to St. Louis I had been teasing Ryan that I knew he hadn’t gotten me an engagement ring yet. He asked me why I was so sure and I told him that I hadn’t seen any invoices or receipts in his email. (I used to check Ryan’s email from time to time. I’d get tired of doing homework so I’d take a break and check my email, ryan’s email, and facebook. That was my routine.) So I was having all this fun on the drive down picking on him while my engagement ring was nestled safely in his pocket.

We checked into our room and then went to the Galleria to do some shopping. Once we were done there, we came back to Union Station and wandered around for a bit. I loved listening to the employees at the fudge shop sing, and Ryan had a shop on the second floor he absolutely loved. I had started to get a headache so I asked Ryan if we could sit down. Ryan suggested we go outside which I was more than happy since it was such a gorgeous day. We sat down on a little bench overlooking the pond and Hard Rock Cafe directly on our left.

While we’re sitting there, Ryan asks me what I’m thinking. I responded, “Dec, January, …. you have seven months to propose to me.” He laughs and says, “I love you.” Giggling I looked at him and said “Wrong answer.” Next thing I know, he slides down to his knee and says, “How about I go ahead and propose now….Will you marry me?”

I just chuckled, like very funny; I didn’t even think to look down in his hands. He just stayed on his knee waiting and smiling. Eventually I noticed him glance down at his hands and I looked down. Ryan says my mouth fell open and that I looked up at him and said, “Are you serious?” hahaha – there’s no denying I was surprised.

Of course I said yes. He slid the ring onto my finger, and we kissed. We started hearing this knocking sound and we looked around and there looking through the window of the Hard Rock Cafe at us was a family knocking on the window and giving us thumbs up with big ol’ smiles on their faces. That was pretty amusing. 🙂

So that’s why St. Louis will always have a special place in my heart. It’s why spending the weekend there last weekend was so special. It was the perfect place for us to go to take a break from the busy-ness that is Christmas-time and remind ourselves of the love we have for each other.

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