Verloofd!

The other day at breakfast I asked one of our volunteers learning dutch if he knew what the word "verloofd" meant. He was pretty sure it had to do with a german word and had something to do with engaged. Since we'd spent more of breakfast talking about language stuff, it hadn't seemed like so strange of a question. But then I mentioned how Niagara Falls is a rather romantic place, and suspicions were raised that there was something more than just a dutch lesson behind my original question. And so I confirmed it: while we were visiting Niagara Falls, Matthijs had gotten down on his knees and proposed to me - and I had gladly accepted. We hope to get married this November and plan to live in the community here to see if this might be a good fit for us together.

In the weeks after getting engaged, I've not only been initiated to the world of wedding planning but also to the strange ritual of 'how do we share the good news'. Although with some people you can just announce the wedding plans right after saying hello, for others there feels like there ought to be more of a moment to mention it, a moment that doesn't always come naturally. I had thought that the wedding planning itself was one of the biggest challenges of getting married but this finding the best way to tell people in a timely manner, well, that's been a good preparatory challenge. Fortunately, there's still email and phones and everyone seems pretty okay with my just announcing the news, even if it might be awkward at times :) The question of how to share the good news is overshadowed by the good news itself: the excitement and wonder of planning to begin a life together.