The Joy of Waterfalls - Sunflowers Moments Galore!

Amazing Sunflower Update- Janelle and I are engaged!!!!

Janelle and I met over three years ago at an "intern" meeting at Bridge Boston Charter School.  As new interns, we met at school on a Sunday afternoon to get to know one another and the program a bit more.  Then the principal took us all out to dinner afterwards.  Initially, I found Janelle intriguing.  She found me obnoxious- her words, not mine (and I do admit that I am a bit much to handle at first, with all my canary sensitivities).  Both of us had just gotten back from living in Southeast Asia and were adjusting to the culture shock of being back in the States.  As we navigated a new city, school, colleagues, and students, Janelle and I starting exploring Boston together and leaning on each other.  

I'm not going to tell our whole love story here, as we tell a much better version in person and even contradict each other in many places.  But eventually, we did became friends that Fall and by the middle of Winter, our friendship had melded into something much more substantial and meaningful. That winter, I fell in love, which was unexpected.  And not only did I fall in love but I fell in love with a woman, which was even more unexpected (for me and everyone else in my life -except my mom, who somehow knew before I did).  And the best, most magical, incredible part of this story is that I fell in love with a woman who really saw me and loved me deeply.  Janelle admired, validated, and honored the parts of me that I loved, kept hidden, terrified me, and made me come alive.  She continues to do these things to this day.      

This weekend, Janelle asked me to marry her at Moss Glen Waterfalls in Stowe, Vermont.  Stowe is a very magical place for us.  The nature there has captured our hearts in a powerful way.  Neither of us can really remember exactly how the proposal went down because our emotions seem to have clouded that moment in time.  However, she definitely asked me to marry her with the waterfall rushing loudly behind us.  And I definitely exclaimed "of course, yes" at least twice, while also asking her if she was kidding and kneeling down on the snowy ground next to her.  At some point, we eventually found our way to standing and asked a family passing by to snap some pictures of us.  She got me a ring that makes me feel like I'm looking at the ocean every time I look down at my hand.  I couldn't really ask for anything better than the gift of the ocean in a ring.  As we walked back to the car from the waterfall, we listened to the water, held hands and looked around at the snow dusting on the moss and trees.  Life doesn't get much better than that.    

This past weekend, I rarely thought about cancer.  I just thought about sunflowers, nature, Janelle, family, and hope.  These are the weekends and moments I hope I remember from this time period in my life.  

Janelle and my journey together, our recent engagement, and our relationship has been filled with so many sunflower moments.  These moments fill me up and carry me when cancer or life challenges get me down.  Our engagement doesn't feel like the beginning of something, as so many people see their engagement; it feels like the continuation of a beautiful journey we've been on for three years together.  However, I can't wait to call Janelle my wife :) 
   

"Someday is made up of a tiny thousand nows." -Curly Girl