How We Met

Once upon a midnight dreary, while I wandered weak and weary...
"Ummmm, where the heck is my car?!?!"

Yes, on February 26, 2005, that's how Jason and Kate met... They were both towed by Riverside Towing! Jason had accidentally parked in a reserved spot at Tiger Plaza while taking another girl home after dinner, and Kate had parked in a reserved spot at Oakbrook Apartments while running in to pick up some friends for a night out. Both returned to find empty spots, and the late-night search for their cars led them both to the office of Riverside Towing.

Upon seeing Kate, Jason sent his friend home, assuring her he could wait on his own. Kate's friends, upon seeing her reaction to Jason, tactfully decided to wait inside their car, giving Kate and Jason what little privacy they could. For the next 1-1/2 hours, the two talked about anything and everything. Jason had been too nervous to ask for Kate's number, and Kate had been too shy to offer it to him. They hadn't even traded last names! So, Jason returned home to New Orleans that night with "Kate from LSU" being the only information he had. Kate just knew "Jason from Tulane". But in this day of the internet, that small bit of information was enough. The next morning, Kate and Jason both went online in search of each other, entering just first names and then searching photos on Facebook! Their "pokes" to each other arrived almost simultaneously, and the rest is, as they say, history.

When Kate's mom asked Jason what it was about Kate that stood out that first night, Jason replied with the following story:

"Kate is so random and animated when she talks. She acts things out. She kept me entertained the entire time we were waiting! But what really caught my attention was when the tow truck finally arrived with her car. She tried to get the driver to stop before he entered the gate, but he wouldn't. So, she jumped in front of the truck and held her hand up! When he stopped, she called out, 'Explain to me HOW it is logical that I should pay a gate fee when my vehicle has not yet entered the confines of your lot!!!' I knew right then that she was very different from any other girl I'd ever met! I couldn't get her out of my mind, and I was kicking myself the whole way home that I hadn't gotten her number."

Anyone who saw Kate that night knew she had fallen hard on that first meeting too. Amanda, one of Kate's three friends who was there that night, said it immediately. "Kate, I think you're going to marry that guy!" Kate's mom also noticed something special. Upon seeing her daughter cheerful after just paying $165 to retrieve her towed car, her mom asked about what had happened. Kate spent the next hour talking about Jason... describing in detail how he nervously shuffled his feet all night, how he had a contagious smile and an easy laugh, how his eyes were the kindest she'd ever seen, and how she felt so "right" with him even though they'd just met! Her mom recognized the look on Kate's face that night... she'd seen it in the mirror 26 years earlier on the day she'd met Kate's dad. =)

The Proposal
(as told by Kate)

Jason and I had been talking about marriage for a while, and we had been ring shopping together a few times... but I was convinced he hadn't found a ring he wanted to buy. So, as I met Jason on the Tulane campus after he got off work one Friday afternoon, I wasn't prepared for what was to follow. I thought our weekend was going to be spent staying at his parents' house, attending a softball tournament, shopping once again for a ring, and doing physics homework. But, that wasn't what Jason had in mind at all!

First, Jason told me that we were stopping by the Maison St. Charles hotel to visit his friend Mike, who was in town for the softball tournament... only when we got up to the suite, it certainly didn't look like a guy's suite before a sports weekend! The floor was strewn with rose petals leading the way in, and on the desk was a beautiful mixed spring bouquet. Further in the suite was a large bouquet of roses. Of course, Mike wasn't staying there at all. Jason had arranged for the suite as a surprise for me! He'd picked the color of each flower in the spring bouquet for its Victorian meaning. He had even asked my mom to secretly bring down a nice dress, shoes and jewelry so that we could go out to dinner sometime during the weekend (how thoughtful!). All this preparation SHOULD have been my first clue that Jason might propose very soon, but I still believed his cover story that we were shopping at a diamond sale on Sunday afternoon. I was certain he wouldn't propose without a ring.

On Saturday, we went to the softball tournament as planned and visited with some of Jason's friends. Then we went back to the suite to clean up and go to dinner at Emeril's Delmonico. That SHOULD have been my second clue that he might propose soon, because we very seldom go out. We're content just being together and haven't found much need to go out to find fun. But, I admit, being pampered and treated to such a special dinner was wonderful! When we returned to the hotel, I was surprised yet again. Jason had ordered champagne, and it was waiting for us as we entered the suite. By now, my anticipation was mounting, because Jason's actions and words all seemed to be leading to a proposal. At one point, I even exclaimed something like, "Wait, are you about to propose?!" Jason replied, "I can't propose without a ring!" So, once again, I was convinced that this was just a beautiful evening together, but not a night for engagement. Cruel man!!!

But, he didn't let me stay confused for long. Nothing can compare to the feeling when the man you love more than anything in the world declares the same for you. As he proposed (I'll keep the beautiful things he said between us...), he pulled out an antique scrimshaw ringbox that is a family heirloom from my namesake. He had secretly gotten it from my mom when we first started ring shopping, and inside was MY engagement ring! Needless to say, I said "yes"! Well... first I cried, and then I said yes. =)