Oh hey I got engaged

Sarah proposed! This happened back in April. Oops! I forgot to tell you.

Here’s the livestream video of how it went down. But maybe you’d like more context! If so, read on.

How we got together in the first place:

• Sarah and I have known each other since the 3rd grade.
• I think I’ve had a crush on her since the 3rd grade, but I’m not sure. Definitely in high school though.
• Frustratingly for me, she just kept stubbornly dating someone who wasn’t me.
• We kept in touch in college. It was nice.
• Post-college, we went on an epic road trip with some forever friends. Despite some encouraging signs, this was a false start.
• We kept in touch post-college. It was nice.
• I lived in Rochester for a bit, and we ended up circling each other romantically for a few weeks. Despite these encouraging signs, it was another false start.
• We kept in touch. I moved to San Francisco. It was nice.
• One day, during our regular every-few-months phone calls, I told Sarah something like: “hey, if we’re ever in the same city again, I think we should date”. She said: “absolutely not.”
• We spent 2 hours going over why she thought us dating wasn’t a great idea. I took many notes. At the end, even though I guess I was rejected, I felt great! This person was calling me out on my bullshit! She knew me so well. I felt close to her and happy.
• Six months later, we were both visiting our parents in Rochester for our 10-year high school reunion. During that reunion, I was wearing hot leather pants, the bullies and bullied were happily chatting, the lions were laying with the lambs, and it was clear that we had all changed a lot since high school. Maybe it’s just me, but I think that helped change her mind. :-)

Background to the proposal:

• Sarah and I were still circling each other. We were “seeing” each other, but on different coasts.
• She visited in February. This was a big deal!
• We went from “idk are we dating idk” to “we love each other and are in a committed relationship” in the span of five days.
• A few days later, we went to a really, really, elaborate proposal. I’m talking “hired a friend to project manage it for six months”. I’m talking “70 friends show up out of nowhere to celebrate”. I’m talking “secretly make arrangements with your beloved’s boss to take her on a 3-week tour of the world”.
• After witnessing all that, Sarah turned to me and said: “never do that for me”.
• I replied: “absolutely do that for me.”
• She said: “okay, I guess I’m proposing, then”.
• Reader, I held her to it.
• I even would poke her about it years later: “don’t forget the proposal must be extravagant! I want friends there! I want pomp. I want elephants!”

How the proposal actually went down:

There were elephants. Specifically, little cute stuffed ones. But I get ahead of myself. Here’s what happened:

Sarah and I grew up together, so our families both lived in the same town. We were visiting both for Pesach. On the second night, her family hosted. As we started the hunt for the Afikoman, Sarah suggested that I look for it.

I looked around and found … elephants! Everywhere.

But also, after them, I found the Afikoman, next to a book. The book was full of well-wishes from friends and family. And also — Sarah proposed! The book was a replacement for a ring.

Loved it. Here are some photos.