A royal engagement...

I told you some time ago that an important post was on its way...here is the promised important post. Many of you may be aware of a very important fact, that I was engaged to be married to the love of my life, Delani, back in June of this year. At the time, I decided that I wouldn't blog about it since it was of a very personal nature; however, it is important and therefore I think worth sharing here. I am a fairly private person. I do not have much time for Facebook or much of what goes on there. The self-revelatory phase of my life where I drew my estimation of myself or my value from comments and friend's approvals or "likes" is now past. I don't say that to mock people who are on Facebook as that would be highly hypocritical since I still have a Facebook account. I have, however, seen the value in sharing little details of my life, especially since I am on the other side of the world from most of my friends and family. So, here is a faithful narrative of all my dealings with blackouts, Greyhound bus service and one of the most magical places on earth, Cape Point.

If I want to keep a secret, I mean REALLY keep a secret; I have found a fool proof plan. Tell no one. When I decided in my mind, after much thought and prayer (my fiancee and my mother would say, MUCH thought and prayer) that Delani Smith was the woman that I wanted to spend the rest of my days with, I began to put a plan into action of how I would ask her. I knew that it would not be a simple matter. Delani's parents are divorced and her father keeps a fairly busy schedule and all I had was a weekend in which to accomplish this. So, here was the original plan. I was to board a Greyhound bus in Bloemfontein and travel all through the night, arrive in Cape Town the next morning where Delani and I would go to lunch with her father. That was as far as that plan had gotten. I did not yet know how I would single him out and ask his blessing with out Delani getting suspicious. Since I would be staying at her mother's house, that plan had little or no contingents.

I was shocked when the bus arrived at the bus station in Bloem on time or very nearly on time. This almost NEVER happens. I settled into a comfortable, downstairs seat and tried to think out how I was going to do everything up on my arrival in Cape Town. Somewhere during the middle of the night, after passing Colesberg on the N1, I fell fast asleep. I recall vaguely wondering if we had hit a section of roadworks where there was no tar, but it felt rather rough to be a graded road. The bus seemed to be lurching its way through some heavy dirt track (which it turns out we were making). Apparently, the driver had a "blackout" and drove off the road, through a barbed wire fence, across a ditch (which should have rolled us if not for God's protection) and into the open field of some poor Karoo farmer's land. For those who were awake, I heard it was a terrifying experience; particularly for one poor guy on the top level sitting at the front window who saw it all. So we had a three or four hour delay standing in the cold Karoo, making new friends and jokes about the incident. One man said that all the dirt piled up on the floor of the cab was where the stewardess, "Fred-Flinstoned" the bus to a stop. I found myself sitting on the steps of another bus, then finally into a seat and at least arriving in Cape Town much too late for a dinner with Delani's father and not sure what to do about it.

I took her to dinner that night at a place called "The Cattle Baron" and I think she secretly thought I was going to ask her, but a pleasant evening passed and no question was asked. The next day, I was fortunate enough to eat a private lunch with her father while she went to visit with a friend. God worked it out perfectly. I asked his blessing, he gave it and that night I asked her mother (while being violently ill in-between the two and drinking the most beastly medicine). I was scheduled to leave Saturday afternoon and so I suggested that we rise very early Saturday morning and get into Cape Point just as the sun rises and have a picnic. To my surprise, Delani agreed. It was the most magical time I have ever spent at Cape Point. There was hardly a soul in sight and certainly no tourists; just some surfers and a photographer.

We set up our picnic spot in between two sand dunes looking over False Bay where the sun would rise over the mountains on the other side. There were baboon tracks everywhere and so I was a little nervous about our picnic being interrupted, but luckily we ate undisturbed. I was very nervous, though I don't think she knew that and so before I asked, I am not sure I really enjoyed the ambience of the spot and the moment so much.

I told her I wanted a picture of her against the rising sun and so stepped back and had her look away; thereby giving me enough time to get on my knee and get the ring from my pocket (a struggle in itself). She nearly turned around, which would have been a bit disastrous, but I was able to stop her, get the picture and be ready to ask her when she did turn around.

Oh, and she said "Yes."...she also said I should blog this; and I think she was right, it was a good idea.