That Saturday morning, Jabi and I were cleaning up after breakfast. I was on my “cleaning mode” totally distracted with household things I needed to do. Jabi yells out from another room if I wanted to have dinner at Barney’s that night. (Barney’s = Barney’s Gourmet Burgers not the big purple dinosaur.) I agree and respond absentmindedly.
Later that afternoon, as we are driving on Solano Avenue heading towards the restaurant he suggests that maybe we should try a new place to eat. So we begin pointing out all the other restaurants. We reached the end of Solano Avenue without deciding on a place and then he asks if we should just have dinner in San Francisco. At this point I’m up for anything, he starts to think but instead of settling on a plan he just continues to drive into the residential area. The houses in Berkeley are amazing and we often love to just drive around and look at the architecture of the homes. I figured he just wanted to drive around a bit before we went to dinner. So, I just sat back and enjoyed the ride, looking at the houses, not stressing about time. Then I see it – a sign - “Berkeley Rose Garden ->” and the thought of him proposing flashes through my mind. Of course, I don’t say anything, I just act as if nothing life-changing is about to happen.
We arrive at the garden and he suggests we get off and walk around. It had been raining earlier that day so everything was still wet and the air was fresh. In this time of year not all the roses are in bloom, but nonetheless it was still a beautiful place to be in. We walked the entire garden, hand in hand, talking about random things just enjoying each other’s company.
Finally, we’re standing on a wooden bridge with the sound of the river flowing underneath us. We had the whole place to ourselves. Jabi pops out his phone and plays a song by Marco Antonio Solis called “La Venia Bendita” which translates to “The permission, God’s approval.” It’s a romantic song about the love a couple has. There isn’t enough time in this life or enough blood flowing through their veins to support the love they have for one another. The beautiful love they share has the holy approval from God Almighty. After the song is over and a moment in his embrace, he knelt down on one knee and opened a little red box revealing a gorgeous ring. “Will you marry me?” and I said, “Oh my God...Yes!”
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| These pictures are from our engagement shoot in the early spring, he proposed in late December. |
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