Thanks so much ladies, you are all the best!
I kind of suspected the engagement was coming. I had been freaking out a few weeks prior because I was leaving soon and had NO IDEA how I was going to get back there for more than a few weeks. I have been looking into postgraduate funding like the Marshall, Mitchell, and Fulbright scholarships, but they are all extremely difficult to get and couldn't really be relied on for a way of getting over there. I have so many student loans for my undergrad that I'm not totally sure if I'd want to take on more loans for post-grad work...so it's either funding or no post-grad for me for now.
I kept freaking out to Richard about this, and he just kept saying vague things like "we'll think of a way" and "something will come around", etc. Basically driving me insane because I wanted answers THEN.
About a week before I left Ireland, we were out shopping one day and he stopped at a shopping centre near our house. He asked me to stay out in the car while he went in, and when I asked him about it he said it was "top secret" and was just really shady about it. My mind immediately went to a ring, but I thought maybe I was just being hopeful.
On Saturday (I left Monday) I was making macaroni and cheese to freeze for him to eat after I left and sent him to Tesco for more cheese. He was gone quite a while so I assumed something was up. When he came back he handed me the Tesco bag and I started to unpack it. In it was the ring box. I immediately burst into tears.
I feel like in our cases (our being all of you fine ladies in this group), the engagement means so much more than just getting married. It means an end to the waiting, the separation, and the bouncing between countries. I am so so happy and SO excited to start our new life. I feel like we all have had to deal with the hardest parts of our relationships at the very beginnings, unlike most other "normal" relationships. Just so ready for life to be normal and happy.
I'm in America now, but he comes over in 3 weeks. I'm so excited for him to get here. The reaction from my parents has been positive but much more subdued than I expected. His step-mother (the only parent he has left) has been absolutely ecstatic which I had not expected at all. I wasn't really sure she liked me at all, and she keeps telling Richard that she's "singing and dancing around the house" and "so pleased" for us. It makes me feel really good to know that I'll at least have an in-law who likes me when I leave my parents to live there.
This is getting long so I'll just wrap it up with the requested pic of the ring (a link because i have no idea how to post it here). To all of you ladies still waiting for your proposals, good luck and keep hope! It WILL happen!
http://picasaweb.google.com/18breslin/Portrush#5486107031419218882
