We officially got engaged at the end of April 2018, but in order to explain how we got here I'm going to have to take you back to December 2017. We were planning to go to Derek's parents house for Christmas. At the time, I had never met Derek's step father, Warren, and was looking forward to getting to meet another member of Derek's family. It was a couple of weekends before we were headed to upstate NY, where Derek grew up, for the holiday festivities. Derek and his mom had been conversing through out the day. True to Derek form, he was telling me their entire text message trail, which included their conversation about a family ring and getting it out of the safe. Derek's excitement to be open and honest with me is one of my favorite things about him. Derek and I had talked a fair amount about getting married so I knew about his Aunt Mary's ring. All of a sudden, his mom, Diane, gave us a ring and asked to speak with me. "CONGRATULATIONS" she said. I said "thank you" unsure of why I was being congratulated. Then Diane put Warren on the phone. We said we were looking forward to meeting each other. Diane yelled from the background, "tell her congratulations". Again I'm thanking him for what, I'm not sure. Derek and his mom wrap up the conversation. He says "Mom, do you think I proposed to her with a lifesaver? I don't have the ring." He then explains that he has not asked my father and it's crucial before we get engaged. Fast forward, Christmas Eve, we arrive in Altamont, walk into the house. In the corner of the living room is the Christmas tree and a small side table with the box sitting right on top of it! Neither one of us would go near it. It took two days for Diane to get the ring because I had to see it and try it on. She presented it to me with a big smile as she opened the box. The ring fit perfectly. Now I'm explaining to her that Derek has to talk with my dad and it's not official. That went right over her head...

Fast forward two months to my birthday, February 2018. My parents always come to visit around my birthday, which I love. Derek and I took them to The Met to see an exhibit. Afterwards we went to Locanda Verde, one of the restaurants in Derek's group, for dinner. We sat down to a yummy dinner and were enjoying ourselves. In between dinner and dessert my mom and I got up to go to the bathroom. As we returned to our seats my dad appeared to be acting unusual. My mom said, "Evan, why are you acting funny?" He said, "I'm fine, I'm fine." My mom persisted he was acting peculiar. My dad could not hold himself back and announced "I'm doing great because Derek just asked if he can have my daughter's hand in marriage." My shocked mother looked at me in horror, slapped my dad on the arm and said, "Evan, you don't say that." Derek was beyond flustered and immediately excused himself to the restroom. I calmly said, "Well, let me tell you what happened at Christmas time...."

It's finally a Spring day in New York and a couple of months after my parents came to visit. Derek and I were hanging out at our apartment, listening to music with the windows open and drinking some wine. We were meeting our friends for dinner that night and just talking about life. Finally, Derek was able to find his own way to ask me to marry him. Poor guy never had the chance to make it a surprise. It was such a nice and intimate moment for us. Needless to say I "officially" said yes and so it all began. Our running joke, truly for the rest of our lives, is that Derek's mom proposed to me and my dad proposed to Derek. Obviously our families were so excited for us they couldn't contain themselves.