How I (Daniel) had a dream (Ann) and decided to marry her
Daniel, a kind hearted lad from Michigan, wanted to get married so after searching high and low he sent a note to Ann on Catholic Match. These notes are really just little smiley faces with a short message. She did not answer. It was a bit of a downer but he struggled on looking at other profiles. Now Ann was the finest catch on all of Catholic Match and so a few months later he tried her again with a short note that read "Life is still good and I am still smiling, so here have a smile."
Meanwhile, somewhere on the other side of the Midwest (Sioux Falls, SD to be exact) there was a girl who was searching for love. Her name was Ann. One day she received a message from Daniel, but the time just was not right for him yet and she ignored him. A couple months went by and interests came and went, but this same Daniel kept making his way to the top of Ann's list. She finally decided to see what was up with this guy again and soon after she received another message. This time she responded, which led to more messages and soon they were writing four page e-mails to each other.
It was in these e-mails that Ann discovered a beautiful mind in Daniel. His words swept her off her feet and sent her heart racing. She knew they would have to converse by phone. This happened quite unexpectedly not long after her and Daniel started writing. It was a little awkward at first, but after a while it was just natural. Their evenings became consumed by talking and just "being" with each other (on an average of 4 hours per night).
Round about mid-June of 2011 these two, obviously infatuated people, decided that they just had to meet to verify that their suspicions and developing feelings were true. Ann's calendar was much busier than Daniel's. She was just finishing up a year long pharmacy residency and was on her way back home to Minnesota to start another specializing in Infectious Diseases. Daniel's only concern was how to spend the small fortune he had amassed before his employer closed their doors.
With just days to make the transition Ann had to pack up her things in Sioux Falls, stash them at home with her parents, and move into a friend's house. Her apartment would not become available for another month and she was very grateful for a place to stay. On top of moving she had to take the Minnesota Pharmacy law exam (on the cusp of a state government shutdown) to get licensed as a pharmacist. Oh and she had to start a new job.
So that's a good time to meet the possible love of your life right? Well, Daniel and Ann thought so. It just so happened to be 4th of July weekend and Ann had the holiday off. Daniel had a plenty of time on his hands (having recently entered free-agency). Thus Daniel decided to drive all the way from Traverse City to St. Paul for the weekend.
The anticipation was immense. When the day finally came it was almost unbearable for Ann to sit through a day of orientation. Daniel had arranged for the Hospital gift shop to deliver Ann flowers followed soon enough by word that he had made it safely to his hotel. When Daniel finally arrived Ann ran to the door and proceeded to follow through on a promise of a massive hug. On order for the weekend was Mass at the St. Paul Cathedral, dinner in Stillwater, MN, a trip to the Science Museum, watching the Wimbledon men's final, playing tennis, a Twins game, fireworks preceded by a performance by the Minnesota Orchestra, and just spending time getting to know each other.
It was a magical weekend and both Daniel and Ann felt like they had known each other forever. The end of the weekend saw a sad departure with neither party wanting to say good-bye. But, say good-bye they did and thus began a murderously long three and a half weeks before Ann could fly out to Michigan.
At the end of July, Ann got on a plane and flew off to Traverse City to be whisked off to the quaint town of Charlevoix for a few days. It was another magical weekend filled with family and getting Ann acquainted to an area with which she quickly fell in love. At the end of the weekend Daniel and Ann had a deep talk concerning where they were going and knew it needed to be taken to another level. Ann could not move to Michigan, so Daniel moved to Minnesota.
The next several months where blissfully filled with much knowing and meeting and family and friends. Daniel was there for Ann when she had rough work shifts on the weekends and she was there for him when he got homesick or had a tough deadline. It did not take long or much rocket science to realize that they were meant to be together forever.
Ann expressed, early on, her desire to be surprised with a proposal. Her being quite observant and on high alert coupled with Daniel's inability to tell outright falsehoods set the stage set for a challenging endeavor indeed. So thus began the game; Ann teasing and prodding and Daniel cultivating an aura of bumbling sweetheart.
He gave the impression that he would be willing to start the process after the holidays, little was Ann aware that by Christmas eve her parents had indicated their approval and that a custom ring hid in his closet. There it remained for another week. The plan had been for a few months to propose on the Feast of the Holy Family at the Church of the Holy Family. With a bit of subtle prompting to make Ann think it her idea they scheduled a fancy dinner for that evening.
After a lovely dinner Daniel proposed that they go to redbox and grab a movie. This route led them conveniently by the church. Daniel asked if they could stop and pray for a while. Ann obliged and they went in. The church was dark except for a few lights shining on a statue of Mary and the rest of the church was decked out for Christmas with huge trees and a lovely Nativity scene. They knelt to pray and in Ann's mind she saw them both standing before the altar someday, but felt at peace (for the moment) with having to wait.
After some time Daniel turned to her and said "Happy Feast Day of the Holy Family! Are you ready to go?" Ann replied she was and got up preparing to leave. Daniel did not get up right away. He stayed on his knees and pulled a little black box from his pocket. Ann knew immediately what it was, but was paralyzed with an onslaught of emotions. Daniel upon one knee asked her to marry him and she joyously said Yes!
In all of the emotions they stood there and held each other. Daniel put the beautiful ring on her finger. Waiting for Ann in the trunk of the car were two dozen roses he had stowed there earlier in the evening. They went back to Ann's apartment and called family and friends alike and then started off on the journey toward becoming man and wife.
Now there is a significance to the day that they have picked as their wedding day, July 7. That happens to be the day, shortly after that first meeting in July, that Ann told Daniel that she loved him. He had preceded her by a couple days, and she was not quite ready to use those big words, but she knew it was true. They are overjoyed that they are able to seal their love in marriage on this same day.