I decided to quit being a bum, after much prompting from Ashley, and write a little of my own thoughts. With the actual proposal, I had several ideas I was tossing around in my mind, but I was pretty sure I wanted to do it at Disney. Almost everyone knows I love Disney World enough to smuggle a pup tent onto Tom Sawyer Island and live the rest of my days in the park! Because Disney is such a special place for my family and I, I wanted to share that with Ashley, especially in a way that would be memorable to us both. This will also force her to love Disney as much as I do so when our kids and I are screaming to go down there after watching the Very Merry Christmas Parade on ABC she’ll have to say yes. (Yes, future children of Ashley and Stephen, you may thank your father!)
Previously, Ashley and I had the chance to go to Disney with my friend, and Best Man, Daniel on our Spring Break in 2007 and with my family that December. I may be stating too much on her behalf, but I think she was able to see what I love about it, and why I was glad to share it with her. The stroll down Main Street USA with the glittering white lights hung like Christmas, the roar and thunder of the Illuminations fireworks through the night, and the pain in my right arm as Ashley digs into me while the elevator plummets on the Tower of Terror. It’s a place of fantasy and fiction, and I soak it all up like a dry sponge. What can I say? Mickey is my homeboy.
Needless to say, my borderline unhealthy infatuation with this corporate wonderland led to the idea of a Disney proposal, which, as one might think, offers a vastly different array of scenarios. I knew it had to be something good, so as I do with everything, I planned and daydreamed in my mind to no end. My dilemma came what to do and in figuring out just how I would pull it off. Ashley has already said how she was fooled (A washer and dryer? Ha!), but that was a task in itself. I was shot at a few times when I flew in Afghanistan, but that certainly wasn’t as stressful as trying to fool Ashley.
I originally wanted to do something with the Great Movie Ride, in which, for those who have been on the ride, I would come out when the gangster/cowboy bandit tried, and failed, to get the jewel from the statue and the regular tour guide joined back. I figured it would be good because it was dramatic, it related to something I love, movies, and it seemed very original. Thankfully, I decided against this because I found out Ashley wanted it to be just us when I proposed and on the ride about fifty other people would have helplessly watched. (and would probably be angry that I ruined their ride!) Also, the day I proposed Ashley said she really didn’t like the ride, which I didn’t know! So, I pulled a Matrix and dodged a bullet with that one! (<= notice the movie reference for the movie ride)
Proposing on the beach just really came to me in one of my daydream sessions, probably at a time when I should have been watching my kids at work. I needed something that represented the two of us, the beach for her and Disney for me, some place where we could be alone, at night with only my super stalker sister hiding on the hill in the glow of a single orange camcorder button, and something I could pull of with relative ease. You see Ashley knew I was going to propose this summer so as we started to reach the middle of July she was getting fidgety. The idea to just go down there and get it done, so to speak, was just a spark of an idea that I knew I needed to act on. Ashley says that I’m not always assertive, which I think she misinterprets as me trying to let her have her way, not a big deal, but by just going on this spur of the moment to propose shows her I can throw a surprise her way! However, just in case the plan of the beach didn’t work I carried the ring in my cargo pants pocket so that if the mood stuck me I could propose, which thankfully, I stayed my hand and waited till after dinner.
Really the only time I was nervous about the situation was the idea of Stephanie tracking us and trying to take pictures because I thought Ashley had spotted her, as I had, in front of Toy Story Mania. For the rest of the day I was pretty paranoid that the entire plan would be in jeopardy. Thankfully, Ashley never caught on so I was good to go. Hopefully this blog isn’t a total rant. I’m not getting a grade so I’m not going to edit!
