Monday, January 19, 2009

redneck or romantic?





I dated the Man at my Address a really long time. Well over half of my high school years and then until after I graduated from college. In high school, I had a friend who thought he was the most gorgeous man alive. She called him "pretty". Wonder what she would have to say now?




I graduated from high school and thought I would be getting an engagement ring for my graduation gift. The entire summer rocked on.


I started college - my degree is in Electronic Engineering Technology (Computer Application Engineering) - still no ring. As the fall of the year approached, classes in full swing, working part time, tired all the time, we went out less and less, and simply stayed home together and he watched sports and I studied. One Friday night though, we decided to go out to eat. On the way home - remember this is the rural south - we stopped at one of our favorite spots down near the river. Yes, folks there was a dirt road involved. Shhh - don't tell my mama.



That night - Mr. Romantic - LOL - decided to surprise me with a ring. Was it romantic? You decide. There were no flowers. There was no candlelight. There was no eloquent proposal on bended knee.




There was - this phrase. "Do you want your graduation gift?" Upon receiving my answer - he handed me a dirty, sweaty smelling, t-shirt from the floor behind his seat. Rolled up in that shirt was the ring shaped box. Inside was a very similar ring to the one pictured above.




That really is not the funniest part of the night. We headed home, and when I got home, I ran to the house and found my mom in the kitchen making biscuits. She made them up at night and popped them in the oven for breakfast in the mornings. As I reached my hand around from behind her to show her my ring, she simply said..........


"I didn't want a son-in-law, I wanted a new refrigerator. " Kid you not, she never missed a kneading stroke, did not even breathe, did not even think about what she was going to say.


So there you have it, the night of my official engagement in 1983 to the man at my address.


So was it romantic or just redneck funny?


Pictures are of my Mama's wooden dough bowl. It is on my dining room table right now with that yarn in it.


Have a wonderful day.



4 comments:

Carrie said...

Tee-hee! It's far more romantic than mine! I had to pick out my own ring, then he made me go with him to pick it up and then he simply handed it to me when we got in the car.

Of course this was more than 6 months after his drunken proposal in front of all of our friends....in which he said it wasn't official until he gave me a ring......which I got a month or so after our JP wedding...which my friends and family have no idea we got legally hitched a year before our Maui wedding so he could get on my health insurance because he needed an operation.

So, it was more romantic than mine, but I think they were both equally red-neck!

ellen said...

This is a wonderful story! I love it and I love your Mom. What a gal.
Did any man really get on his knees?

Very Mary said...

memorable at least!

Anonymous said...

Love the bowl-and the story!

So glad the biopsy turned out good!