My fiancé James is the director of our local high school band and he used that position to his advantage the day he proposed to me.
I work in a small office in which I’m by myself most of the time. The office is located in the center of a large parking lot that usually has very few cars in it and I overlook that parking lot.
It was a Friday morning during football season, and as is usually the case, I could hear the marching band practicing in the distance. That was a familiar sound every day as James led his young band members in their maneuvers to be displayed at the Friday night football games.
This morning I noticed that the sound of the band was getting closer and closer. “Terrific”, I thought, “sounds like I’ll get to see them march by this morning.” Five minutes later, sure enough, I saw the whole band rounding the corner, James in the lead.
I watched in surprise as the band turned into my parking lot and began marching into one of their formations. Only the snare drums sounded as they moved precisely into place — a giant heart formed before my eyes. They began playing “My Heart Belongs to You” and James marched smartly to the center of the heart.
James knelt down and looked up at my window where he could see me watching in amazement. First he put his hands over his heart and mouthed “I love you Karen” and then he held a box up toward me. He opened it and I could see that a ring glinted in the sun. At that moment, the entire band, in perfect synchronicity shouted, “Karen. Will you marry James?”
My answer was much quieter, but the beaming smile on James’s face told me that he had heard my “yes” quite clearly.
