How We Met
On Nov 24, 2013, I went to my favorite skating rink to get some exercise and have some fun after a long week of work. I noticed her across the other side of the rink, trying to keep balance, and looked like her first time on ice… Her laces were very loose and could cause potential injury. I introduced myself and offered to tie it for her properly as it was very cold (We got some snow in November). We got talking and I was immediately hooked from her vibrant personality.. I invited her for a snack and added her on Facebook that same day. We started talking soon after and decided to meet up again for another session on the ice. It was a lot of fun getting to know her and decided to ask her out again after that.
We have been seeing each other for a few months when I got offered to work abroad. Which meant doing a long distance for an indefinite amount of time. She was surprisingly very supportive which made me very grateful. This decision had put us on a 3-year long distance. I’d be coming home once / month and plan a MEGA DATE to make up for all the other dates that we could have had. We’d Spend a few days together, then off to work. Planning to see each other was bound with lots of uncertainties that we had to overcome over the years.
Long distance is never easy, but after 26 flights and going through weeks and weeks of not seeing each other, made me appreciate every single moment we spend together. She was my rock and always stayed by my side no matter how hard it got.
How They Asked
She was always talking about taking a trip together and been planning to celebrate New Year’s Eve at a remote destination. We finally decided to celebrate new years in Bermuda. The weather was a bit colder, and raining for almost all the trip. But we didn’t feel like this hindered any experiences we had. She really saw the good in all the bad, little moments that made the trip memorable. Her positive spirit won me over and made her a permanent place in my heart.
Rida’s favorite color is Pink, and Bermuda is famous for its pink beach. We went to the beach for a skinny dip, despite it being cold. I asked her to go to “test the water” for a dip alone while i “tidy our area”. I had a bottle with a message inside that I wanted to hide in the sand along with the ring. I was lucky that the water was a bit wavy and gave me just enough time to hide everything just in time. I planned to propose at sunset.
The sun started to go down, I was very nervous… sweaty palm and almost panicking. But I had to stay strong, unfortunately, one look into my eyes would have spoiled the surprise as I was getting tense. I took a deep breath and went ahead with my plan.
She stood there for 5 seconds, I thought to myself that this is it. I looked straight to her eyes, asked her to dig into the sand where her bag was sitting and told her if we found a shell, it was a family tradition to keep it. And there it was, the ring was inside a pink shell along with the bottle. I looked again into her eyes and read the letter. I popped the question at the end… She said YES! It was the happiest day of my life.
