Lessons Learned

Wow! Mark and I have only been engaged for 9 days... and I am learning so much about myself and our relationship.

• LOVE - Our love and connection has grown a lot in this short timespan since our engagement... practically overnight. We keep talking about how we can't imagine loving each other more, but as time over this last year has passed... our love has grown leaps and bounds. But this past week, it is deepened on a whole new level which is pretty amazing!

• SYMBOL OF OUR RELATIONSHIP - I loved discovering that my engagement ring is not only a promise of marriage, but it is a symbol of our relationship. When I look at my ring, I see: years of friendship that we shared and will continue to share; our dedication and commitment to each other - and our marriage; sacrifices that we are willing to take for our relationship; desire to move our relationship forward; knowing that we will always have each other to lean on for support; and that this is only the beginning of our love story.

• TRANSITION TO "US" - These next few months are an opportunity to transition from thinking about "me" to thinking about "us." Yesterday, I had told Annette Babiz about our engagement... the first thing that she did was email Mark to say congratulations. Last night, he commented on how much that meant to him. He is such a great guy and happy that I am telling people. Since I have a ring (a visual symbol of our engagement), it is easier to show it off and share our engagement with others. Even so, I realize that I want to include him... and he deserves to share in the joy as others learn about our engagement. Afterall, it is OUR engagement... and not just mine.

• STOP & ENJOY OUR ENGAGEMENT - Last night, Mark and I were planning to go visit extended family and share the news of our engagement. Yet, Mark mentioned that we also had the option to attend our ward's FHE Dollar Movie Night. My first thought was to stick with our original plan and get to work in telling everyone. After more consideration, we talked and agreed to take a break... and enjoy an evening at the movies with friends. It was the best decision for us... we needed that time to relax, have fun, and enjoy this time of engagement. Hopefully, I remember this lesson over the next few months and the rest of our lives :)