When Julie and I first started discussing the future, she asked that before I propose I do one thing -- talk to her Dad. I assured her that I would, and that I planned to do this even if she hadn't asked.
I definitely wanted to talk to him in person, but because her parents live in Houston and we're in Fort Worth, I knew that might be difficult. The first time I thought about talking to him was when they came up the weekend of Mother's Day, but I wasn't ready to propose, and I didn't want him to be burdened with the secret for a month or more. My second opportunity came when we went down to their beach house for the 4th of July, but as you know from my earlier post, that place was packed, the opportunities for privacy were very limited, and again, I didn't want him to have to keep the secret for a month or more. This was still okay, as I had a plan.
I knew that I'd get another chance in August, when we headed down to Houston for Julie's high school reunion. Then, a couple of weeks ago, I found out that her Dad will not be in town that weekend! Not knowing when I'd get down there next, that pretty much ended my hope of talking to him in person. On to plan B.
I had his email address, but I didn't have any phone numbers. So I emailed him a short note saying that I had hoped to visit with him in person next weekend, but since he wouldn't be there, that I'd like to visit over the phone when it was convenient for him, and of course, I asked for a phone number. This was on Friday, right before taking Julie to the airport...I didn't get a reply until almost noon today...imagine how nervous I was with each hour that went by without a reply!
In the end, it worked just as I had hoped. He suggested that I call the house after the women left to go see The Lion King, which I did. We had a really good chat, and man was he prepared! Fortunately, so was I, and at the end of the call, we graciously gave his blessing.
Now the really tough wait begins. The countdown until Thursday!
[Editor's Note:This post was kept private until after the proposal.]