Keith and Nikki

Keith and Nikki

So right off, you need to know that I can handle about any kind of bugs, excluding spiders, and ticks. Ticks are the worst.

On June 12th, I had worked a long day at a hospital. Up at 5:30 am, leaving work at about 3:30 pm. I drove three hours to Norway, from Newberry where Keith was to spend the weekend with him. We had plans to go to the Longbranch for fish fry dinner, so I didn't stop to eat on my way up. By the time I got to Pat and Buffy's trailer, I was hungry, tired, and cranky, and I just wanted to go eat.

Keith said that he had a few places that he wanted to go check for morel mushrooms before we went to get fish. I didnt really want to go, because I was just ready to eat, so I said fine, but that I wasnt going to get out of the car. He was freaking out a little, telling me that I need to just suck it up, that it will be fine and that it wont take very long. So I complained about not wanting to get out of the car, because the ticks were really bad and that I thought that the mushrooms were out of season now. I told him that I would decide if I was going to get out of the car when we got there or not.

He stops the car behind the pea field, where he wanted to walk in to check for mushrooms. He asked if I was going to get out of the car. I threw my seatbelt off, cussing, getting out of the car.

Walking into the peafield, we must have stopped about 50 times for him to help pick all the ticks off me, with each one making me more angry as we picked them off. He put on this big act, looking for mushrooms that weren't really there (because they were finished growing for the year). As we got to the top of the hill, I starting looking around for mushrooms, steaming mad that I was even out there in the first place. I turned away from him, searching. As I turned back to face him, he quickly turned to me, dropping on one knee with the ring. I quickly said yes, flinging my arms around him. As we stood there, I asked him why he had picked that day to ask me. He said that it was his mom's birthday, and it was my great grandma's birthday, both of whom had passed in the past few years. It was also my great grandma's ring. He said that that day just felt right, and was special for him, and he thought it would be special for me. I couldnt help but cry. it was just so romantic, that I felt like the world's biggest jerk for complaining so much. He had always told me that he was going to surprise me, and he did. I definetly was not thinking about getting engaged as I picked all those ticks off me! :)