We’re Engaged!
Jessica comes from a family of artists. Aunts, uncles, and cousins put brush to canvas and chisel to wood.
Her parents, Phyllis and Paul, work together to create stained glass pieces that catch the sun and spray color across a room. Phyllis’ dad, Arthur, was a professional cartoonist. Her mom, Rita, was a painter. Paul’s mom, Hennie, paints abstracts; his dad, Hans, worked with metal.
A Glint in Her Eye
Jessica and I have a video call or two everyday when we’re long distance. The 12-hour time difference works out surprisingly well. We talk around 7 am/pm when we’re eating breakfast/dinner.
This March, Jessica called. She had the twinkle in her eye that usually precedes one of her big ideas.
“I was thinking we go to Oslo and Helsinki for 12 days this summer.”
I had my typical first reaction.
“I don’t know. The renovation drained the budget… 12 days. That’s a lot.”
Jessica was ready.
“I made a budget for the trip. We can shorten it if you think that would be better.”
And so I looked at the budget, shortened the itinerary by a few days, and decided it would be nice to return to our stomping grounds. We would head to Oslo, then Helsinki for 8 days at the end of July.
I brewed my coffee and called Jessica to let her know. She had that glint in her eye again.
She said, “I was thinking maybe you propose to me in Finland.”
Twisted Silver
Our engagement may have come as a bit of a surprise to some. We haven’t always followed tradition. This was not a surprise for either of us.
Before setting off for our trip, we talked through the idea for months. I told Jessica I would propose on Wednesday. We picked the ring together on Tuesday in a street market in Helsinki.
The day we moved to Finland we took a walk through Kaivopuisto to the Baltic Sea. Our feet brought us to a small dock surrounded by sailboats. Five years later, we returned to that dock, and I slipped the ring onto Jessica’s finger.
It is a simple ring of twisted silver. It looks just like something Hans would have made in his home workshop in Bloomfield—an homage to the patriarch of the Stargardter family.
Jessica wrote a beautiful post in Hans’ memory a few years ago: Cornflake Ice Cream
FAQs (and some possibly unsatisfying answers)
Will there be a wedding? When?
Not sure! It could be a while.
Does this mean Jessica is returning to the United States?
Yes! Eventually!
