some stories just need to be told with no flowery language, or clever phrases.

so i’m going to tell you a story about a boy and a girl.

this story took place 21 years ago on a day called april fool’s day, april 1.

the boy was a fool.
not just a fool for love kind of foolish, he was a fool because he truly was a boy before that moment. even though he was 26 and very responsible, he was quite immature.
he played foolish boy games.
he said foolish things to the girl.
he was foolish with her heart.

the girl was more than a girl, she was a woman.
a woman who was hurt by the words the boy threw around so carelessly.
a woman who wasn’t quite sure why the man even acted like a boy, because in her eyes, he was always a man.

eventually, this boy decided that despite his fears, his reservations, his uncertainties, it was time he started acting like the man he needed to be. so he pursued the girl, not with foolish games, but with a heart of intent.

and on april 1, he declared that intent.

april 1 was the day i asked jennifer olin to marry me.

i drove jennifer to the cobb galleria mall for dinner.
but this was more than just a dinner. this was a orchestrated evening that would crescendo into the big moment.

in the car, before we went into the restaurant, i gave her a book. it was Max Lucado’s “The Final Week of Jesus. you see, april 1 was also Good Friday that year, and i wanted to give her a special Easter gift.

but inside the book was a small ring with the tiniest diamond chip known to man.
i told her when she saw the ring that it was a promise ring. i knew i wanted to be with her, but i wasn’t ready for that next step, and i wanted to give her something to let her know that i was in this relationship. (okay, maybe i didn’t put away all boyish games.)

she was thrilled. she loved the ring. she immediately put it on her hand, and it brought her great joy.

we went into the restaurant and had a nice dinner. during the meal, the whole time i was thinking, “if she loved that, she’s really going to love what comes next.” and felt my pant pocket for the millionth time just to make sure it was still there.

after dinner, we drove around the mall to the adjoining office park. in the center of the office buildings was a huge fountain and the ground was cluttered with beautiful, spring pastels in full bloom.

we walked in the park, and then i told her i forgot something in the car. i rushed back and grabbed three things:

• a boombox
• my journal
• a dozen tulips

the ring was still in my pocket.

i gave her the flowers. i played her some music. and i read from my journal, telling her how much she meant to me and how i wanted to spend the rest of my life with her. i’ve always been able to write what i’m feeling better than i could ever say it.

then i got on one knee and asked her to marry me.
she screamed. in fact, she was so loud that i thought a security person was going to come.

and so continued a foolish love story that had crazy moments before, and crazy moments afterwards.

but every moment is a love story that is still being written every day.

i love you, jennifer walker. thanks for saying “yes” 21 years ago.

contents on this site are ©2015 tim walker. all rights reserved. i would be flattered if you would like to publish this content somewhere. just contact me through this blog.

image courtesy of flickr.com/creative commons. photo by Palash Biswas.