Our Love Story: Part 26 (The Proposal)

Preface: If you’ve missed any of the “chapters” of our love story so far, go back & get caught up before continuing below!
Part 1 — Part 2 — Part 3 — Part 4 — Part 5 — Part 6 — Part 7 — Part 8 — Part 9 — Part 10 — Part 11 — Part 12 — Part 13 — Part 14 — Part 15 — Part 16 — Part 17 — Part 18 — Part 19 — Part 20 — Part 21 — Part 22 — Part 23 — Part 24 — Part 25

“Who I am.. This is a tough and yet an easy question.. Well, here’s me in a nutshell:

I am the guy who loves to ride roller coasters so much that after I get off one, I walk right back into line. When I hang out with my friends in stores, I usually get too careless of where I’m walking and run into everything. Sometimes, I love to fall asleep to a good “chick” flick or a good drama movie. I love music, but enjoy quiet. Playing the piano takes me to a level that there is no way for me to explain: for that moment playing the piano, me and it become one (though I’m not a good player). Singing is one of my favorite things – when I hit one of the high notes – I turn on inside.

On my days off in the summer, there’s nothing better than heading out to a good golf course for a round of golf with friends. In the winter, I enjoy making forts in the snow, sledding, and simply acting like a little boy all over again. On other random days, a little video gaming never killed anyone!

Spring is my favorite season. I love seeing the trees come back to life and bring those amazing pink flowers along with it. I love to laugh so hard that I can’t breath – just keep laughing for hours uncontrollably. I enjoy walking into the wilderness on the days I feel melancholy, it brings me so much inspiration. I’m the guy who loves to entertain kids – even if it means getting thrown off a tube 4-feet in the air and tumble across the water like a ragdoll for all those watching to enjoy. Spending time with the people who are closest to me is always my favorite thing to do (though sometimes I do need time alone).

When I walk out onto the stage, though it might be scary, I feel like I’ve left earth and have come to a whole new world. The Mozart Requiem has changed my life in a way that I can’t explain.

There is nothing like it in the world when you are riding a motorcycle going 120mph with only swim shorts and flip flops on.

My life was changed drastically the moment I danced with Kara. Though we both couldn’t dance to save our lives, it doesn’t matter. All the wonderful things that I saw in her in those 2 minutes will never be forgotten.

The first time that I held Kara’s hand will never be forgotten. I was so nervous and excited. It was a magical moment.

I’m the guy who had fun trying to freak out his girlfriend in a go-kart by having it fly over potholes and dodge fences.

Trying to teach a girl how to shoot a gun and finding out that she can shoot better than you is priceless.

I’m the guy who loves canoe rides with his girlfriend. I could drift out across the waters forever. Just the two of us in the boat, talking, relaxing, enjoying, just us.

And finally, I’m the guy who has been blessed to even know someone as special as Kara Lee Eichelberger. Every day with her has been a treat: the best dessert you could ever have. I savor every moment that I have with her.

I no longer own my heart – she does.

I KNOW that I TRULY LOVE Kara.

That’s who I am.”

Derrick Abbey
On August 8, 2009

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August 15, 2009

I blinked my eyes open. I didn’t know where I was.

The sun was shining through the window – which had Spongebob Squarepants curtains adorning it. I glanced around the small room – wondering why I wasn’t in my apartment at Disney World.

Then suddenly, it all came back – my time at Disney was over but I was still in Florida – with Derrick. We had arrived at his cousin’s house sometime after midnight the night before. I braced myself for a wall of sadness to hit, but it never did. The tears & heartbreak at saying goodbye to my friends & my time at Disney was in the past – and today was a brand new day.

I stumbled out of the guest room – completely unaware of my surroundings. Thankfully, the living room wasn’t hard to find & Derrick was already up, chatting with his cousins, Annie & Kevin. That’s when I “re-met” them – since I truly had no memory of meeting them the night before. We had breakfast & Derrick explained that he was going to take me to do a little sight-seeing (maybe we would go to the beach?) and then we’d be back to visit with some other family members who lived in the area & for dinner.

Derrick’s parents had lived in Florida for a short period of time, and even though it was while Derrick was in college, he still was familiar with the area from his visits during breaks. I asked him where we were going & he said cryptically: “You’ll see.”

He mentioned that we would likely be doing some swimming though, so he suggested wearing bathing suits under our clothes.

And off we went. It was a beautiful, sunshiney, hot Florida day but I hardly noticed anything about my surroundings. I was just overwhelmingly content to be with Derrick. The day before felt like a fast-paced, hold-onto-your-seat, go-go-go kind of day, so having a restful day ahead of us, in Florida, before making the long drive back to Pennsylvania the next day, sounded simply glorious.

Derrick drove my packed-to-the-gills car and we found ourselves at a little wanna-be beach. It had a small pier and a little sandy area, but we only stayed for a few minutes. There were a lot of people there & it was overly crowded.

“We’re going to go somewhere else.” Derrick quickly declared, and we hopped back into my little red car & off we went.

We grabbed smoothies at Sonic as we drove around – I knew Derrick was looking for something, but he wouldn’t tell me what. 

And then he found it. We pulled into a state park called “Rainbow Springs”. Derrick asked if I had ever been swimming in a natural spring before & I said no.

“This park is known for it’s crystal clear, cool water – my parents used to come here all the time,” he told me as we pulled in & found a parking spot. Being just about lunch time on a Saturday morning – the park was packed.

We walked away from my car & as we neared the entrance, I patted my pockets & suddenly stopped. “Wait! I don’t have my wallet – where is my wallet?” We frantically began to look around on the ground. “Where did it go?”

We retraced our steps back to my car & sure enough, there on the ground, just below the passenger’s door, was my little wallet. We both shared a sigh of relief that we had found it (and no one else had), and then we (finally) proceeded to enter the park.

As we walked in, I could see the water – it was beautiful & teal – it looked so refreshing. It was down a little ways from where we were & as I moved to walk down to the water, Derrick redirected me to the hiking trail. “We’ll go swimming in a little bit. Let’s go for a walk first.”

“Are you sure?” I asked. “The water looks so nice! Why don’t we go swimming now, and then walk to dry off?”

He shook his head: “I don’t really feel like swimming right now, let’s take a walk.”

He took my hand and without any more protest, off we went. I truly did not care where we went or what we were doing – I was simply happy to be off on an adventure, in such a beautiful place, with Derrick. (Plus, on our way over, Derrick had told me stories of his parents seeing alligators in this state park – so even though the water looked so very inviting, the thought of swimming was equally a little scary.)

As we walked further along the trail, the people began to thin out. Further & further in, we would pass a few people here or there, but it seemed that most people were staying closer to the water.

The park was beautiful. Lush green foliage was all around us. Every once in a while we’d get a glimpse of that blue water, but for the most part it was hidden behind gardens & waterfalls & big tropical Florida plants. I had my little point & shoot camera with me & I tried to snap a few photos here & there – but mostly I wanted to simply be in the beautiful moment with my best friend.

We came around a bend & that’s when we saw it: a path that branched off from the main trail, leading to a wooden bridge that ran across a tiny waterfall. It was so picturesque.

Drawn to the quiet scene, we both walked out onto the little bridge. There was no one else around – all you could hear was the faint bubbling of the water as it ran over the rocks & into the pool below.

Derrick wrapped his arms around me & we just stood there for a long moment. I heard him take a deep breath, and then he said, “Kara, I want to spend the rest of my life with you.”

I froze. Chills. Goosebumps broke out up & down my arms. Suddenly my heart was beating double-time. What did he just say? And, as oblivious as I had been to every single “clue” all day long – it was like a switch had flipped & I instantly knew what was about to happen.

Then, there was a long pause. And as the moment drew out, I wondered if I had heard him correctly.

Suddenly, from out of nowhere, we heard feet pounding down the path & coming around the corner. Snapped out of our trance, we both turned to see a little boy in bright neon-green swim trunks round the bend & come to a dead stop right in front of us. We looked at him and he stared wide-eyed back at us.

Before we could say anything, he took off again & disappeared back down the trail.

Not exactly sure what had just happened, I turned back to Derrick. I was about to ask him what he had just said, when he hugged me close again.

He cleared his throat & then said it again – and this time, there was no question of his statement: “Kara, I want to spend the rest of my life with you.”

And before another moment could pass, Derrick pushed me out of his hug, grabbed my hands, and dropped down to one knee. With a shaking voice, he looked up into my eyes, and pulling a little, black velvet box out of his swim trunks, he said, “Kara, will you marry me?”

I nodded my head & managed to squeak out a, “Yes!”

I kept nodding, completely overcome as he pulled the sparkling gold diamond ring out it’s home in the black velvet box & slipped it into place in it’s new home: my finger.

I could hardly believe it. We were officially engaged & going to get married!

And that is the story of how we met – how we fell in love – and how Derrick proposed.

If you have read all 26 “Chapters” that I’ve posted – you get a GOLD STAR. Can you believe how long this story got? I originally was thinking it would be a series I would write over just a few months – but here we are 3 years later. I have so enjoyed the process of traveling down memory lane – reading old emails, digging thru old photos, reminiscing with Derrick about our dating relationship – it’s been simply grand. We are so blessed to have such a beautiful love story – 12+ years in the making!

Tomorrow, we celebrate our 10th wedding anniversary & I couldn’t think of a more fitting post to lead into a decade of marriage. I love you, Derrick Abbey! I can’t believe that we’ve been married for 10 whole years – it’s flown by so fast. I can’t wait to see what the next decade brings!