It Takes Thread to Tie the Knot

YES!

It did happen.

STEVE AND I ARE ENGAGED!!!!  He proposed to me on September 14, 2013.  I know this post is a month late, but I have a treat that makes it worth the wait.

Unbeknownst to me, Steve had recorded the entire proposal and set up.  SO instead of having to write the entire story....YOU GET TO WATCH IT!! (Believe it or not, I am limiting my use of the caps lock. I JUST CAN'T CONTAIN MY EXCITEMENT!)  This Sunday, Steve's parents threw us an engagement party, and before dinner was served Steve asked everyone to gather around the TV to watch a surprise.  He pressed play and announced that he had made a video of our engagement so that everyone see the story first hand.  I knew that he would do something with the video clips, but this was WAY beyond my expectation.

Before you watch the video, I want to provide you with some details.  First off, my now fiancé, created an art installation for me.  I know right!? He did good.

A little background:

 Every fall, Grand Rapids hosts this inspired event called Art Prize where the city overflows with hundreds of artists who display their art or create art installations with the hopes of winning a $200,000 grand prize.  It's incredible.  If you're ever in the neighborhood in September or October, you should definitely check it out.  Anyways, the art piece Steve and I liked most out of all the years we've toured Art Prize is a piece named the Lure Series by Beili Liu.  We saw it in Grand Rapids in 2010, and it has stuck with us ever since.  Here is a snapshot of what it looked like in GR.

Lure Series: Beili Liu.

This art installation was truly incredible. Those are spools of suspended red thread.  I wanted to give you a taste of the real deal.

Lure Series description: 

"The ancient Chinese legend of the red thread tells that when children are born, invisible red threads connect them to the ones whom they are fated to be with. Over the years of their lives they come closer and eventually find each other, overcoming the distance between, and cultural and social divides.

The installations make use of thousands of hand spiraled coils of red thread suspended from the ceiling. A disk may be connected to another, as a pair, and a pair of disks is made from a single thread. Every coil is pierced in the center by a sewing needle, which then threaded and enables the suspension of the disks. Subtle air currents set the red disks swaying and turning slowly as the loose strands of thread on the floor drift and become entangled."

Steve and I found the story beautiful.  So, for our engagement, Steve created a mock installation of the Lure Series and hung over 3000 ft. of red thread,  yes I said 3000 feet, from the ceiling of his apartment--all one continuous string.  To represent our future journey through life, he modified the art piece as one continuous thread to symbolize our relationship's life span.  He and his close friends hung the continuous thread from floor to ceiling hundreds of times; this sight took my breath away.  On that one continuous thread, Steve hung memories that he had saved over our relationship: our first picture we ever took together, tickets from our first concert, letters or poems he had written,  notes I had left him--seriously, so precious I could not believe it.  While he proposed to me, he said he wanted the continuous thread to represent our relationship's journey--that no matter the twists, turns, trials, or tribulations; it would never sever or separate (I, of course, started crying upon this explanation.  Me crying becomes a regular theme in this story).

But enough background, watch the video already!   I might add that I had no idea video footage was in progress...I probably would have adjusted my skirt or something.  Needless to say this video is the raw, unedited proposal--except for in the end when I realize I'm being recorded.  Enjoy!

(Click the video title if you would like to watch the video in full screen through YouTube.)

I was so pleasantly surprised by this video and I hope that some of those who are important but far away feel a little closer to this day.  I'm so thrilled with what God is doing for me and Steve and cannot wait to experience all the things He has in store for us in this upcoming year of engagement.  We are incredibly blessed to have two amazing families fully supporting us, so much so that they're chomping at the bit to start the wedding planning!  We couldn't ask for more.

Stay tuned for what happened after he proposed!  I'm not gonna lie--my guy did pretty good.

p.s. August 23, 2014 might be a date to keep open on your calendars :). It's definitely going to be a great one.

Musings

  

Today, I had lunch downtown with a named Daniel who met my dad on the Washington Wine Tour.  He had offered to take me to lunch and provide some insight about the Chicago Job market and offer some suggestions. [Unfortunately, August-December is the driest hiring spell in Chicago; everyone is trying to make it to the end of the year]. Daniel was awesome--so nice, so helpful, so funny. He encouraged me that I was on the right track, that I should keep doing what I'm doing and stay positive. He confessed he had ADHD, which explained our mile-a-minute conversation.  Lunch lasted a full 2 hours, and there wasn't a dull moment.  I left lunch with a thankful heart, extremely helpful feedback, and sore muscles from laughing.  

Our lunch spot was incredible.  It was smack downtown, right on Michigan Ave. and the Chicago River.  We sat outside next to a fountain enjoying the Indian Summer.  

View from a sunny courtyard off Michigan Ave.

When I left lunch, I decided to go for a walk to enjoy the weather and explore downtown before I went home.  While I was crossing the river, I passed a woman with a sign that said she was stranded and needed a bus ticket for $37.00 to get back to her kids in Wisconsin.  She wrote in bold "I'm not homeless".  I walked passed her, ready to shed the guilty feeling that comes every other block in Chicago.  But I couldn't shake this one, I felt compelled to help her.  I looked in my purse, and all I had was a $5 and $20 dollar bill.  I decided whatever her circumstances, she needed the $20 more than I did.  I walked back across the bridge, gave her the $20, asked her what happened.  She told me she got her purse stolen while she was visiting, and then asked for my bag of left overs.  I wished her the best of luck, she said "God Bless", and I went on my way.

I normally wouldn't say anything about something like this.  Even when I thought about writing this post I was thinking "when you give, do not let your left hand know what your right hand is doing." But  as I walked away, I felt even more troubled.  Why did I feel bad for giving this woman $20?  Was it because she asked for my food right after I gave her money?  Was it because I gave the $20, not the $5? Was it because I wanted a more elaborate story? I couldn't figure it out.  I think there is some odd societal guilt that comes from giving money to people on the street.  Like we're taught they are all scamming us, or there is a better way to help.  It seems like a cyclical thought process the keeps us from helping, or allows us to walk past.  Or then I thought this--what if we feel guilty afterwards because we chose to help that person rather than the 20 previous people or the person at the other end of the bridge?    Every time I walk past a person in need I think, "What if that's Jesus?"  Maybe we're troubled because we hope Jesus was posing on the right side of the bridge and not the left side.  Did we choose correctly?

I know that helping isn't some spiritual Jesus spin-off of "Where's Waldo?",  but I couldn't direct my mind elsewhere.    

Maybe it's that I don't want to feel accomplished for only giving $20 because I could do more, so I feel guilt instead?  What is it?  Does anybody else feel this dilemma?  

                                                                                                                                                                  

On a less introspective note, my mom is coming to visit tomorrow!!  I'm ecstatic.  I have swept, dusted, and mopped the entire apartment.  Which is feat because my roommate has a cat; that's another story but...let's just say I swept up about a pound of cat hair.  Mom and I are going to have the greatest time.

An equally positive note:  I landed a part-time job with Anthropologie last week!!!  So I am now no longer unemployed, I will be making money so my job search will be less stressful.  Even more positive: I get a 40% discount at Anthro and its affiliated stores.  Actually, wait, I'm not sure if this is a good thing.  Can I handle the constant temptation to spend my paycheck on the ridiculously adorable clothes that are AT A DISCOUNT!? We'll see. 

I mean, they sell this.  Need I say more?