Finalist Entry - Joanna R.

My boyfriend and I had been dating for almost a year (very) long distance.  He was stationed at Pearl Harbor and I was in Virginia.  He was leaving for deployment soon and we were spending the holidays together as a last visit for ten months.  The distance

had started to create a strain on the relationship and we either needed to move on or take the next step yet we kept prolonging the inevitable talk.  To relieve some tension the day before I was to leave, my boyfriend declared that we should go for a hike.  He knew that hiking was my stress-reliever and I knew that his idea of hiking involved a flat walk in a neighborhood park.  Not wanting to turn this rare opportunity down, off we went to hike the Kuliouou Ridge Trail.

It was an absolutely beautiful Hawaiian day with a perfectly clear sky.  We stopped at all of the scenic outlooks but we also grew increasingly quiet during the hike.  I attributed it to our thoughts that this could be our last full day together.  Some major career decisions were coming up for both of us and I couldn't envision us continuing like this much longer.  When we got to the top of the ridge, I was astonished at how much of Oahu you could see.  The panoramic view that lay before us was absolutely one of the most beautiful and serene visions I have ever witnessed.  With the mountain ridge behind us, the ocean in front of us, and a very slight breeze wrapping it's arms around us, I was truly drowning in the beauty of it all.  There had been a few people at the top initially but they soon left and we were alone.  It was beginning to get late and I suggested that we start heading back but my boyfriend insisted that we wait.  When I tried a couple more times, he continued to insist we wait.  I noticed that he was getting increasingly nervous which was making me nervous and I was convinced that this must be the end I had been anticipating.  What better time?  He finally grabbed my hand and said that he knew ten months was a long time to ask me to wait as a girlfriend (yep, here it was) but (but???) would I be willing to wait as a fiancé?  (I'm still surprised that I didn't fall off the ridge at that moment.)  He continued, "We've spent too many days apart already and I don't want to spend another day of my life without you.  After I get back, would you be willing to spend our days together and marry me?"  

He hadn't had time to get a ring but it didn't matter.  I was in one of the most beautiful locations in the world and I had just had one of the best proposals ever. Suddenly the ten-month wait didn't seem so bad after all.

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