In April 2019, we went to celebrate Edgar's father's 80th birthday in El Paso.  It was a wonderful reason to get the family together.

It was made even better by the fact that Edgar's friend Eric and his family would also be in town.  I had ruined our trip to meet them in January.  We had scheduled a trip to Denver to celebrate Edgar's birthday and I came down with the flu so we had to cancel.

BUT now we were getting to see them in El Paso.  Not just that, we were taking a day trip to White Sands, New Mexico to take photos of Rumi, Eric and Sarah's baby boy.

We got up early and made our way to "The Heart" of White Sands.  We took photos, and Edgar jumped off a dune. So then I jumped off that same dune.  Once I got back to the top, we took a seat on top of that dune and Edgar proposed.  How?  He made me laugh saying (like Wilie E. Coyote) "Jen E. Clymer - there is something I have been meaning to ask you..."  Between the shock of the moment and the laughter, it became a blur of emotion and surprise.

What I would come to find out is that what he meant by that sentence was that he had meant to ask me in Denver months before!!  Personally, I could not be happier that it worked out the way it did.  We got to celebrate with his entire family that night, and I got to be surprised again when my parents showed up to Edgar's Dad's birthday party/our engagement party. 

You will see in Edgar's story that I add a personal note.  Ask me about it later.  :)

In Mexico, there is a saying that "Man proposes a plan, a woman changes it, and then God laughs when both plans go to shit."

It all started when I had a dream of proposing to Jen in a large field surrounded by snow and mountains. I couldn't shake this image of us tiny in the foreground compared to the untouched white field and the snow-capped mountains behind us. Jen came up with the idea of visiting my friend Eric, his wife Sarah, and their newborn Rumi for my birthday in January. And I thought, that's perfect. There's snow in Denver, Eric is an amazing photographer, and both Eric and Sarah would be there to witness the proposal the same way I had been there for theirs. 

My sister Adelina had given me our grandmother's ring that she had left for her. I will forever be thankful to her for that kind and loving gesture. I had the ring, next was asking Jen's parents for permission. We were already flying to New Jersey for Christmas so I knew I had to do it then. 

All I had to do was wait for a time to get Jen's parents alone together. That happened on day one when Jen said she was going to spend the day with her neices. Great. Her dad and I watched JUSTIFIED on Amazon prime while we waited for Jen's mother to return from shopping. By the time we got to third episode of Justified, I asked her father what time he expected his wife to return. He answers, "She's shopping. She could be gone all day." So with that, I asked him first. Just as I had finished asking him, Jen's mother, Betty, came home. She looked at her husband, Chip, and he said, "Edgar has something to ask you." So I asked her for permission to marry her daughter. She smiled and cried and gave me a big hug. Chip joined in too. It was such a beautiful moment.  So I shared with them my plan, "I am taking Jen to Denver to meet Eric and Sarah. I plan to take her to a snow-covered field surrounded by mountains and propose to her then. They loved the idea.  Of course Eric and Sarah were ready and all seemed like it was a set until... Jen came down with the flu. 

As it turned out, we had to cancel our flight for Denver and my plans were scrapped. I didn't know what to do. Our busy schedules didn't allow for us to go out of town any time soon. The next trip we were going on was to El Paso in April to celebrate my dad's 80th birthday. I knew we couldn't get back to Denver before then. I was worried about the snow melting in Denver after May. So I had to figure out a plan B. 

Then it hit me, WHITE SANDS, NEW MEXICO. It would look the same as my dream and it would be warmer. We were already going to El Paso in April, so we could easily do the proposal then. But the only thing missing was Eric and Sarah. I called them and asked if they could fly down from Denver that weekend to be there for the big day. They didn't even skip a beat, they said yes right away. And a second plan was hatched. All we had to do was wait for April.

Then Jen went to brunch with some friends. They all asked her, "When the hell is Edgar going to propose to you??" She didn't have an answer, but told them that she was very happy and that even if it didn't lead to marriage, she was perfectly happy just to be with me. However, when she came home to tell me this, that's not how I read it. I read it as, "When the hell are you going to propose to me?" This was literally a couple of weeks before we were going to El Paso." I had the ring in the next room. I was trying to play it cool. I said, "Trust me, darling. I will get there." To which she replied, "Or you won't and that's okay." Needless to say, I felt like crap. I was even considering just going to the next room and getting the ring and give it to her right there and then. But I didn't want to do that to her, so we pushed on with my plan B. 

{OK - This is Jen...  I really meant that if he didn't want to get married, I would be ok, as long we were together and happy, that is what mattered.  Now on with Edgar's Story...}

April came and we went to White Sands. However, we had to go early because Eric informed me that the kind of shot I wanted had to be done in early morning light. So I convinced Jen that we should go that early because Eric wanted to take photos of Rumi. I also told Jen that Eric was going to take some headshots of me and if she wanted hers, that she should come wearing make up and hair done. 

On the road to White Sands, Sarah tells the story of how Eric flew me in to Mexico City to be there for when he proposed to Sarah. I immediately changed the subject. Sarah sensed this and quickly consulted the map of white sands and picked out a place for us to shoot the photos of Rumi: THE HEART OF WHITE SANDS.

We arrive to the heart and I check with Eric. The light is perfect. It's now or never. I run up to the top of dune. Out of breath, I sat down. Jen sat next to me and then I shifted to on knee and took out the ring my sister had given me. And I asked her to marry me. I was so nervous I didn't hear her answer. It wasn't until Eric asked, "What is her answer?" that I realized I hadn't heard it. So I asked her again and she said YES.

The images Eric shot were exactly as I had seen them in my dream. It was the perfect site. And it wouldn't have been as nice in Denver in the middle of the cold winter. For this I say, always trust the timing of things. Timing is your friend. Well, thank you again, my friend.