The Proposal

This past week my little brother proposed to his girlfriend. In typical Childress fashion, he pulled out the stops and it made for a grand unforgettable proposal. I was reminded of my proposal to my wife and the events leading up to the event.

Shannon and I had only been dating for 9 months but we had known eachother for several years from church. I had and still today a great relationship with my soon to be in-laws. I wanted to respect them therefore asked for thief permission first. I had rehearsed how I was going to ask them over and over in my head; however, the question came out quite different. In fact, it was not a question at all. I set them both down and meaning to ask them I flat out told them I was proposing to their daughter soon. Although I botched the question, they of course were thrilled.

The big night had arrived, the plans were in place, the key people had been contacted, and of course the ring had been purchased. I picked Shannon up and although I was playing it cool I could tell she was a little nervous more than usual. We had dinner at Gordon Birsch restaurant downtown and them proceeded over to the Peabody Hotel. She was still extremely nervous and I could not figure out why unless she had been tipped off, but who in their right mind would do such a thing.

Despite the nerves, I had convinced her to go up to the roof of the Peabody with me. I know you are thinking I proposed on the roof which everyone seems to do but you are wrong. We took a left out of the elevators and into the great ballroom. It was dark and unoccupied like I had hoped and in the middle of the dance floor was a circle of lit candles. If you know my wife she is a "rule follower" and cringes when rules are broken. She knew that we were not supposed to be in there much less have a bonfire in the middle of the dance floor so getting her to move towards that direction was a challenge. Needless to say, she knew what was coming and we shared a dance in the middle of the circle of candles while a good friend of mine serenaded us with our song "Unforgettable.” That moment I dropped a knee and proposed.

We left downtown and headed towards the Wolfchase area. Shannon was calling all of her family including her sister from Nashville and was frustrated that she could not reach anyone. We went to Barnes N Nobel to "pick up a book.” There in the cafe set all of her family, and mine including her sister from Nashville. It was an unforgettable proposal and one I am quite proud of. When Shannon was finally asked why she was so nervous the entire night, she simply responded "I saw the ring box in your pocket when you picked me up.” Good grief! I love that woman.

-Steve Childress