The Story of How Stuart Proposed

Let me preface all of this with: if you're looking for a "romance in the highlands" type story, you're better off punching that into amazon and purchasing whatever comes up. ;P

Long distance relationships have a tendency to steal a lot of spontaneity from you. Everything has to be planned and arranged and organized in order to work, so before Stuart had even left America in May of 2013 we had a long, deep, dull conversation about practicality and the future. It's not realistic to assume that we can just love each other enough to make things work - not when there's extensive paperwork and fees keeping us both in our respective countries. So we looked at visas, and came up with a vague timeline, and coordinated it with when we would actually be in the same country and agreed that sometime in the summer of 2014 we would get engaged. Now, I'm sure that doesn't sound terribly romantic, but moving forward in our relationship with the knowledge that we have so many obstacles in our way - it was too big of a decision to make without thoroughly talking it over.

Besides, I'm just not the kind of girl you spring things on! My mom has said that I require at least three days notice if any plans change and she's not far off. Though I have relaxed on this considerably, I don't react well to surprises. So on June 9, Stuart sat next to me and held my hand and said exactly what I had asked him to say when he was ready: "Girlfriend, you might want to wear your hair down tomorrow." Not that it would matter, a few minutes after he slipped on my ring the sky opened up and all chances for photos were lost!

We drove out to the Highlands on June 10th, through Glen Coe and up to Loch Ness - the place of my childhood dreams. I have long been interested in cryptozoology and plesiosaurs, so naturally Loch Ness was the ultimate romantic destination for me! We went through the Loch Ness Centre and Exhibition and learned a lot about the surrounding area. We tried (mostly in vain) to make our way down to the water and when we finally did, I promptly landed my foot in freezing cold water. It's not anyone's fairy tale but my own and I feel so lucky to have someone who respects and values my wants over what society dictates as "traditional". Anyway, we saw a rainbow on our way home, which I'm counting as Nessie's blessing. ;)