The Best Day Ever

Me: What would you have done had I said no?
Mike: Left you on the Island to swim home.
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Well, needless to say, Labor Day weekend went down in history for me as one of the Best Times Ever. A relaxing siesta before school got going again surprisingly turned in to much more.

We've gone to Mackinac Island every summer we've been together, and this year we were lucky enough to visit twice! We got to see several things we had yet to enjoy, including a butterfly house (where a butterfly even landed right on Mike's shirt!) and a beautiful stretch of road alongside the Grand Hotel. We did lots of walking and sight seeing (during which I complained over my lack of a hair tie), and even got lost a few times! Mike eventually insisted we find one of our favorite spots from a few years ago--West Bluff.

After much confused searching, we finally found the beautiful view we were looking for! With the Straits of Mackinac stretched out in front of us, Round Island Point Light to the left, and the Mackinac Bridge to the right, I admitted then that it was one of the best views I'd seen in person. A touristy couple came over on bikes then, and Mike asked them to take our picture. The woman was just about to hand my camera back when Mike asked her to take one more special picture for him, at which point he dropped to one knee and proposed to me. I instantly started crying of course, because... well... it just seemed like the right thing to do. ;)

Mike is certainly a Romeo of sorts, which I'm a very lucky girl to have, but this moment with him was simply the most romantic we'd ever shared. It had been meticulously planned out by him, over weeks, months, possibly even years, and it finally arrived in a package that just couldn't be beat. Even though there were stretches along the way when I felt it would never get here, I can honestly say now that it was worth every second that I had to wait. It was simply perfect. I was reminded of something he said over a year ago to comfort me while we waited--"No one remembers how long it took Michaelangelo to paint the Sixteenth Chapel. The only thing people really remember about it is how wonderful it is."

Afterwards Mike told me all about the ring he gave to me--about how he had researched it, shopped for it, and eventually came to settle on it. He hand-picked the diamond and had it mounted on a very special band, which has an inset ruby. Ruby is my birthstone, and he also told me that during his research he discovered that a ruby touching your skin is supposed to bring good luck. :) I can hardly stop looking at it on my finger :D

We had a delicious and very romantic dinner outside a restaurant next to the Grand Hotel, near the golf course. I had poor reception on my phone (although it's better on the island then it is at Mike's family cabin), but I called my Mom to tell her the news. Just about everybody knew of course, but this week I've slowly made the rounds of calls so that I could speak to my family each in person. ;)

Mike and I talked about our wedding for the very first time. We haven't decided anything for certain just yet, but we want to get married soon after I graduate in 2010--perhaps in late June. :) Lots of time perhaps, but we waited a long time to make our engagement right, and I would be pleased to wait a little longer to make my wedding right too. I will have graduated forever from school, and after returning from our honeymoon, I can actually stay with Mike permanently--forever--without having to worry about returning to school in the fall.

I took pictures of the whole weekend, which of course you can find on my Flickr page: http://www.flickr.com/photos/fanelia/
And for you gushy romantics out there, here's a special one of just proposal/ring pics: http://www.flickr.com/photos/fanelia/sets/72157607100478216/

*whew!*

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And, believe it or not, pharmacy school has started up in the center of all this. It came back to grace my life with a not-so-surprising sense of "OMG I'm so overwhelmed already." But whatever. Not even the thought of studying for the next eight months could knock me off my Cloud 9. ;)

I'll have lots of time to bore you all with thoughts of P school later, but something of major importance did occur today--I counseled patients for the first time!!! I started my first "official" internship through Ferris, and unlike my internship with Kroger, I'm not simply a glorified technician. I'm working at Sindecuse Pharmacy on Thursdays, and this morning after meeting with the pharmacist Bill for a half an hour to go over the course expectations, he marched me right out and put me in front of patients for the rest of the day!! Every patient that picked up a prescription got counseled by yours truly today. I was ridiculously nervous to do this. I don't feel confident enough in my drug knowledge to be responsible for a patient yet, but with Bill's help, I successfully counseled scores of unsuspecting guinea pigs. After I was finished for the day, I felt a small transformation in my professional self. I've conquered a barrier--I've made another step closer to the final product. :)