What a Perfect Day for a Proposal!

"The Perfect Day"

- a sad but true story, but not without hope! By Marta. 29/02/2004

As is known to most people, the 29th of February is traditionally the only day when a woman can propose to a man.

It is still, even in this modern day, a quite unconventional and brave step for a woman to take in her life. At least for most ordinary people.Those who know me, however, realise that I am not one of these ordinary people - quite the opposite, in fact!

I have spent the last seven years with my boyfriend Peter. We get on well as a couple, even though life hasn't been easy for us. We have been through a lot together and we have always been there for each other. As we have never had much money the question of getting married has come up very rarely and so far has never been taken seriously. But this year I decided to take action and do something about it.

I had planned everything. I had picked a perfect spot - Brighton, a famous seaside resort, as my boyfriend, who comes from a landlocked country in Europe, had never seen the sea before. To pick a date wasn't optional but luckily this year the 29th February had fallen on a Sunday, my only day off during the week. I bought the train tickets, called the information centre to get info about Brighton and its sightseeing. I had even told my boyfriend not to make any plans for this particular day, so everything seemed perfect.

Instead of a ring I had bought him a nice watch, as he is not in favour of rings. I wanted to look my best so had had my hair styled, prepared my most sexy outfit and thought over exactly what I was going to say.

Alas! By late Saturday my plan started to fall apart. My boyfriend had a temperature and a bad ear ache, which put paid to the trip to the sea. However, I still hoped to take him somewhere special where I could reveal my plans. But even that didn't work out.

We stayed indoors for the day but I still wanted to go through with it. I approached him in the traditional way and the second he realised what was going to happen I saw pain and panic coming into his eyes. He had had no idea! He showed shock, surprise and hurt all at the same time. He begged me not to do it. He wanted to be the one to propose but just didn't feel able to because we have no place to live together, no money and no secure future. He felt like he had nothing whatever to offer.

I completely understand his thinking and his actions, but somewhere deep inside I was hoping that we could overcome these issues and just be happy to go on to the next step, significant for both of us. I was hoping for a change, some kind of reassurance in our relationship but it seems that I will need to be patient and just wait for the Perfect Day D to come. I will do - because he is worth it!

PS: You'll have to ask Marta what the "Perfect Day D" means - I don't! (webmaster)