I propose...

Recently my girlfriends and I were sharing our engagement stories. Sonya's husband proposed to her in a cornfield—on the exact place where he drove his car when he fell asleep on his way home after their first date. Another friend’s husband confidently presented her with a Bible, inscribed with her married name.

My story isn’t very romantic, but I never doubt my husband’s love. A little over a year after we’d been dating, he began talking about our having children one day. At that point, I asked, “Don’t you think you should ask me to marry you first?” And he said, “Well, will ya?” And, choking back a lump that had formed in my throat, I shrugged and said, “I guess.” Then we were officially betrothed. Not a Hallmark moment, but it worked. Two months later, we were married and now after 17 years, he still makes my heart beat faster when I see him.

Now we are experiencing our son’s first stages of courtship. He just turned sixteen and has a girl who seems to be returning his affections. She’d been prom dress shopping and I’d been wondering if he was going to take the hint and ask her out. He had a plan. First he wrote a song and planned a scenario that, in his words, involved: her driveway, his guitar, some sidewalk chalk and candles. Fearing her dad might somehow spoil his plan, he switched to Plan B.

He fine-tuned the song and then had her stop by our house. Fearing we’d mortify him by eavesdropping, he asked if he could break a house rule and sing to her in his bedroom—a safe distance away from his nosy siblings and parents. “I just need ten minutes!” he begged. “Fine,” I told him, “but keep your clothes on.” He countered, laughing, “Okay, I just need five minutes.” Glad to see he has a romantic side and a sense of humor.

The song was a hit, she said yes and bought the prom dress. Now my husband has one concern: if his son planned such an elaborate scheme just to ask a girl to go out with him, how in world will he one day propose to his future wife? I’m guessing he won’t ask his dad for any pointers.