"Will you Marry Me?"

August 13, 2009

By Samantha Brunner

So sometime towards the end of last year I sold my Pink Punk Rocker to this guy in Arkansas. When he came to pick it up from me he told me that he was going to give it to his girlfriend to propose to her. I told everyone the story about how this guy was going to use my pink creek boat to propose to his girlfriend because I thought it was so sweet. I wished him good luck and asked him to let me know how it went. I never forgot that story and I tell still tell it from time to time. But when people asked about how it went I couldn’t tell them becuase I had never heard back from the guy. Well, one day in June I got an e-mail from entitled "Remember that Pink Kayak?" When I opened the e-mail I got a nice surprise- the answer to everyone’s question: "did she accept his proposal?" Their story wound up being printed in Arkansas Bride. Here’s the e-mail from Blake along with the story in his wife’s words:

Hey Sammie 🙂

Its Blake Jackson, I purchased a pink Jackson kayak from you back in 2008. I told you that I was going to use that kayak as part of a proposal I had planned; and I was going to also let you know how that went 🙂 The days following after I purchased the kayak were crazy. Meagan’s Grandmother passed away, and I had Major surgery which lead to also a very dangerous and complicated recovery. So, I was a bit distracted and never got back to you.

Check out the attached pictures and then read on

Thanks again Sammie 😉

Oh, and our wedding is covered in the current edition of "Arkansas Bride" if you happen to see it at the store. Your old kayak is in there.

My better half wrote an article online covering, "Most romantic proposal." It made second top article. I decided to copy and paste it here for your reading.

The day I met my fiance, I knew we were meant to be married. We spent our first date kayaking- it was absolutely perfect. He taught me how to half-roll, and helped me get up, so I felt really macho, like I could actually do it. He packed a picnic lunch and we ate peanut butter and jelly sandwiches on a little island. I came home from our first date saying to my mom, "That’s the guy I’m gonna marry! That’s the guy! That’s the one!" Jumping around for about 3 hours until 4:00 in the morning, giddy as could be. It took him about a week longer to realize it than me. He went on a business trip to Las Vegas 5 days after we met. During that time we sent each other about, oh on average, 50? emails a day. Some of which discussing our future children’s names (sarcastically…maybe… okay, maybe it was serious!) This was September.

By New Years Eve, I was becoming impatient, how much longer? It was already assumed we would be married- I just wanted to know how much longer until I could have him as 100% mine. We were staying in a cabin that night, and I made a ring out of a napkin, got down on my knee and proposed a silly but heartfelt proposal. We laughed about it (he still has the ring in a special box) and when it struck midnight he said this was it… 2008… this was the year he would ask me to marry him. When I asked when? (I’m a completely impatient person- if you can’t tell) he said probably the fall. Okay, okay, that was enough. No more questions.

When February came around things started to get really busy- his birthday, Valentine’s day- then my grandmother got really sick, and didn’t get better. She died on March 2, my birthday was a week later, then my fiance went into intensive surgery on March 12. Needless to say, March was a terrible, horrible month.

Once Blake, my fiance, got out of surgery, I spent my time being a full time nurse, changing gauze, mushing food up, filling water, forcing him to eat, getting drugs from the pharmacy, administering drugs, being there through the miserable pain. By the March had come to an end, I was miserable (I’m schizo-affective/bipolar). Blake kept telling me, "I’m going to make you smile by the end of March- don’t you worry." I couldn’t imagine how- I would have had to won the lottery, I thought.

On Saturday March 29, only a few days after Blake had gone back to work (and was still feeling pretty horrible) he woke me up at 7:00 AM to say he’d been called into work and would be back to go back to sleep, to stay in bed. I hardly paid attention as it was way too early and I’m a late sleeper. When I woke up at 11:00 AM and looked over to see an empty spot next to me, I found it a little weird, but decided to go back to bed. Then… wait? What was that thing dangling from the fan?

I looked up and read the note dangling above me, "Good morning! Today is a special day. A surprise awaits you in the great room" (Funny considering we were in a 565 sq ft. apartment!) Then I looked over on the nightstand and there was a rose with the note, "Don’t forget to freshen up first!" I hopped out of bed, ran around to the doors, to find them sealed shut with a note, "No peeking!"

And so, I went into the bathroom to find my kayaking skirt (that he had gotten me for my birthday) hanging from the closet door with a note. "We’re going on an adventure, dress for the occasion!" I thought we were going kayaking for the first time this season and that was the great surprise! It was still really cold out, though, and I didn’t know what to wear! I was so excited- but it said to freshen up. So I quickly brushed my teeth and put a bra on. Deciding that was good enough, even if there were people out there it was okay to be in pajama pants and a tank top, I opened the bathroom door and peeked out (that had the final note- "Come out this door when you’re ready- "I love you"").

There it was! A great big pink kayak sitting in our living room with a huge ribbon across it and a big bow on top! AHH! I squealed! "Oh my god you got me a kayak! And it’s pink!" I was so excited- I had just said a few weeks before (surprisingly, after he got it) that if I had my own kayak I would want it to be pink.)
I sat down in it and tested it out while he explained to me how he had driven from Little Rock to Memphis to get it on the way day of the year that it happened to be icing and snowing (a big deal for us Southerners). It suddenly made sense to me why his office had sent him all the way to get that "part for work" that he didn’t know what it was that day.

After sitting in it awhile he said, "there’s one more note… it’s somewhere on the kayak". I looked around but couldn’t find it. "It’s probably underneath that bow!" I tore the bow off looked underneath it, tore it apart- I couldn’t find anything! Then I looked down and there it was- a decal on the kayak, permanently there, "Will you marry me?"

He was kneeling beside the kayak as I was sitting in it and looked over at him, "Are you serious?" I was in complete and total shock. I had reached that point where I was so happy and full of emotion that I didn’t know what to say or how to express it. He pulled out the most beautiful ring. He said that he needed someone to kayak beside him throughout life (how cheesy, I know!) Somewhere in all that I said yes.
April 4, 2009 he will be mine. 100% all mine. And I’ve got the ring to prove it… and the pretty pink kayak that reminds me as I’m paddling down the river, "Will you marry me?" I most certainly will!

By: Meagan

How sweet!! Thanks Blake and Meagan for letting me share your story!

Sam