How We Met - part eleven
Meeting the Parents(Sorry, Jeff, but this is kind of a long one!)
It seems like we ate out a lot the next few weeks! Saturday, February 27, 1982, we had an engagement celebration dinner at R. Spencer Hines. (Then it was a restaurant, now it’s a bed & breakfast.)
Wayne’s good friend from before his mission invited us for dinner the next day. Bruce and his wife Jeannie were a lot of fun to be with and gave us a lot of good advice to help us through our engagement. I volunteered to take a salad and made one my family at home really enjoyed – lots of shredded lettuce and minced tomatoes seasoned with salt and pepper and left to chill for a few hours. I learned that my future husband needed “real” salad dressing on his salads. (Actually, I had forgotten the incident, but the Bassetts hadn’t as they reminded us when we visited with them a few months ago!)
That week my parents came to Provo with my brother who was entering the MTC. I helped them with the last minute shopping and then after George was taken care of Grandma and Grandpa (Judge and Louise) took me and Wayne and my parents out to dinner. They had fun reconnecting and enjoying the role they played in our getting together. The next night Wayne and I took my parents back to the site of our first date – Heap’s Pizza – where we had a wonderful time and Wayne was able to see my dad’s fun and relaxed side. Before they returned to California, my dad gave me a father’s blessing which I really appreciated.
In between studying and hanging out with relatives, we went shopping for rings. Wayne wanted to find “the perfect diamond for the perfect girl.” (Isn’t that so sweet!!) I told him I wasn’t perfect and that I would be happy with anything, but he insisted on looking until he found what he wanted. He chose the diamond and I got to pick the setting. (And I guess it works, because that’s what we did a few years ago when he wanted to get me a birthstone ring for Christmas.) The ring was finally ready and we had our candle passing on March 11th. (Here’s a description: A candle passing occurs when a girl gets an engagement ring. She tells her Head Resident and a sign is posted on the door into the dorm saying, "Candle passing tonight at 7:00," or whatever. At that time, all interested parties gather in the common area upstairs. The ring is placed on a candle and the head resident lights the candle. The lights are turned out, and the candle is passed from girl to girl until, after the suspense supposedly becomes too much, the newly engaged girl blows out the candle and everyone descends on her, squealing with excitement and congratulations.) That’s about how I remember it. Often the whole dorm already knew who has just gotten engaged, but my roommates were great secret-keepers, and ours was a total surprise to everyone else.
General Conference was approaching, and Wayne’s parents decided that would be a good opportunity for them to make the trip from Seattle to Salt Lake, so they did. We had more dinners with them and I met a lot of Whitaker relatives that weekend. One of the new things I learned was that Wayne inherited his preference for rare steaks – I would rather not see any blood on my plate. But that’s okay. Differences bring spice to our lives, and in the important things we thought alike. We still do.
It seems like we ate out a lot the next few weeks! Saturday, February 27, 1982, we had an engagement celebration dinner at R. Spencer Hines. (Then it was a restaurant, now it’s a bed & breakfast.)
Wayne’s good friend from before his mission invited us for dinner the next day. Bruce and his wife Jeannie were a lot of fun to be with and gave us a lot of good advice to help us through our engagement. I volunteered to take a salad and made one my family at home really enjoyed – lots of shredded lettuce and minced tomatoes seasoned with salt and pepper and left to chill for a few hours. I learned that my future husband needed “real” salad dressing on his salads. (Actually, I had forgotten the incident, but the Bassetts hadn’t as they reminded us when we visited with them a few months ago!)
That week my parents came to Provo with my brother who was entering the MTC. I helped them with the last minute shopping and then after George was taken care of Grandma and Grandpa (Judge and Louise) took me and Wayne and my parents out to dinner. They had fun reconnecting and enjoying the role they played in our getting together. The next night Wayne and I took my parents back to the site of our first date – Heap’s Pizza – where we had a wonderful time and Wayne was able to see my dad’s fun and relaxed side. Before they returned to California, my dad gave me a father’s blessing which I really appreciated.
In between studying and hanging out with relatives, we went shopping for rings. Wayne wanted to find “the perfect diamond for the perfect girl.” (Isn’t that so sweet!!) I told him I wasn’t perfect and that I would be happy with anything, but he insisted on looking until he found what he wanted. He chose the diamond and I got to pick the setting. (And I guess it works, because that’s what we did a few years ago when he wanted to get me a birthstone ring for Christmas.) The ring was finally ready and we had our candle passing on March 11th. (Here’s a description: A candle passing occurs when a girl gets an engagement ring. She tells her Head Resident and a sign is posted on the door into the dorm saying, "Candle passing tonight at 7:00," or whatever. At that time, all interested parties gather in the common area upstairs. The ring is placed on a candle and the head resident lights the candle. The lights are turned out, and the candle is passed from girl to girl until, after the suspense supposedly becomes too much, the newly engaged girl blows out the candle and everyone descends on her, squealing with excitement and congratulations.) That’s about how I remember it. Often the whole dorm already knew who has just gotten engaged, but my roommates were great secret-keepers, and ours was a total surprise to everyone else.
(Here's a picture I found that is close to what my engagement ring looks .)
Comments