She Said YES!

“I ask you to pass through life at my side—to be my second self and best earthly companion.”

— Charlotte Brontë 

Good morning, brothers, sisters, mothers, lovers; I trust you all slept well. My Queen and I had a big night, I’ll share in a few, but we were exhausted. I’ve added to my morning routine of Nicorette and coffee; I now heat a rice bag to place on the small of my back. One of our teammates made it; I’m not hurt; it is just comforting to this older man.

The Queen is still in our bed, fast asleep; PVHT was whining at 8:00; I thought I’d better get up and tend to her needs. I came down, let her out, and made my coffee, shes in the courtyard smelling things; she’s tapping on the door to get back in, hold on.

So here’s a story to brighten your day. Ten or so years ago, my Queen and kid went to Aruba with another mother and daughter.  They had a good trip, and when they arrived, the brother of the daughter was holding a sign welcoming them home. You see, her friend’s little ten-year-old brother had a crush on our kid, cute stuff, but this kid had "game."

He began texting our kid at ten years old, she was fifteen, we have the text exchange, he started with Hey Gurl, an excellent opening at ten, but let her know he was in love with her, she was kind, silly kid, just a friends brother.

As time passed, we became good friends with this family; as we hosted events, the Schnell’s would arrive and thrive. Jay, the father, kind-hearted, a good man, Angie the mother, organized and motherly, Aaron the older brother, the comedian, Bailey, their special needs daughter, and Nick the wonderboy.

I’m kidding about Bailey, she’s a beautiful young, smart lady, but I’ll share her story in a bit. We have traveled with the family to Mexico; Aaron found a partner in Kate, another comedian, and a blond-haired killer. 

When Nick was eighteen years old, he was drafted in the Tampa Bay Rays’ first round. He is now a professional baseball player living in FL with a home in Indianapolis. Fast forward to January of this year; we had an opening in our company; I pitched the idea of having Bailey join us; she was smart, driven, a college athlete. She made it through our rigorous testing protocol and joined us in January.

When COVID hit, my Queen and I headed to our mountain top retreat. Our kid and new hired joined us, and since baseball was canceled, young Nick also joined. Our COVID family was the five of us; mother warned her daughter, I know you guys are just exploring a relationship, but this will be like drinking from a firehose. Remember, the kid at ten decided Carly MF Durr was his Queen; he played a long game.

We spent 60 days together; we had a lot of fun, we got to know each other very well, aside from Bailey’s elder abuse of your’s truly, it was a memory I’ll hold forever. COVID has it’s gifts; never forget this time. Jay and Angie came out and scooped up the kids; they headed back to Indy for a spell before returning to CO. Bailey moved into the condo downtown Denver with Carly; she rounded out our western team.

A few weeks ago, Nick was staying with us at our mountain house. He sent us a text and asked that we get some time alone. He asked for her hand in marriage, and we were elated to have such a beautiful young man join our family. He had already asked her biological father, he agreed, it’s time to pop the question.

Last night, under cover of the night, many of Nick and Carly’s friends gathered at their home in Indianapolis. We flew in three young ladies from Carly’s college to witness the event. The plan was Nick was taking her out for her birthday and then would return to bend a knee in front of us to ask for her hand in marriage.

We were hidden in the living room, they got home, Carly had some food leftover from dinner, and as she opened the refrigerator door, she said, “Nick, why is all this food in here? Is my Mom here?” At that moment, the lights flipped on, we all stood as this ten year old now many years in the future, dropped to his knee and said I love you so much, would you marry me and Carly’s response was, “Yes, thank you.”

Hugs were shared, booze was drunk, I ordered three Pizza King Pizza to help supplement the spread put forth by Angie and Jenny. We made it until about 10:00 before grabbing an UBER home. A late-night for these old folks, but it was worth it; our family became complete last night. Three kids are all married or engaged to exceptional individuals.

Our work is done; we raised three amazing kids, all successful, on their way to living their best life. We extended our family last night to include friends, and I think over the coming years, we will have many nights, days, and holidays to celebrate our good fortune. I list my jobs in order of importance on my business card. My first job is father, if one of the kids was a meth head, I might reconsider that as number one, but my children are my legacy; I did some excellent work with the help of some amazing ladies.

Well, my Queen is up; I’ll have her send me a photo to accompany this soup. You can see the happiness in the eyes of these young kids; the ring is blinding; cheers to the future of our family. Welcome Jay, Angie, Aaron, Kate, Nick, Carly, and yes, even Bay to our circus known as family.

“I ask you to pass through life at my side—to be my second self, and best earthly companion.”

— Charlotte Brontë