Waters Mill : North Georgia Weddings and Events Venue

Sentimental Journey......

It’s that time of year again....leaves have all fallen and the evenings are crisp and lately we have been blessed with moderate temps during the day.  Just right for Thanksgiving!

It’s hard to believe but next week is Thanksgiving which means engagement season for those of us in the business.  This time of year floods my thoughts with nostalgia as I think about my own engagement.

In 1997, my father was killed in a tragic automobile accident on Hwy 52 just less than a mile from our house.  It had been a very rainy October and with lots on his mind he was traveling in to work and hydroplaned killing him instantly.  My life and that of my family was instantaneously changed forever.  He was such a beloved man.  I will never forget the sea of black umbrellas at our tiny little church located in the North GA  mountains as folks gathered to say goodbye to the man that walked to the bank and whistled as he walk revealing the joy in his life.  He loved people and he loved life.  He was a simple man, a little mischievous man and a great Dad.  I still get emotional thinking about my Dad for I was a Daddy’s girl just like my baby is a Daddy’s Little Girl.

After his accident, I was lost.  I was ending a very unhealthy relationship with someone of 7 years...a very toxic relationship, lost my Dad and now I was forced to “take over” the family business in which I was none to happy to do.  (this story gets happy)

February 2000, I moved from our home for now my Mom had gained strength and was now capable of flying on her own.  I moved into a new home which at the time I did not realize but I was moving toward my new future and new life.

Long story short, one of my neighbors was a retired DeKalb County Police officer.  After spending a little time with me, he suggested I meet a friend of his.  It took a lot of finagling on my part to meet his friend but I finally got my phone number to this gentleman.  We talked on the phone for 4 weeks before we ever met and finally on a Sunday afternoon during the Summer Olympics I met my Prince Charming.  Funny part of the story, we lived less than a mile from each other.  I can still remember my heart pounding a little faster as I would hear his motorcycle zipping down the street hoping for a surprise visit as i was doing yard work......

We dated for several years but it was in 2002 when things began to change for us.  In my heart and spirit, I knew he was the one...this was the man I had waited for nearly 35 years for and now the question was would he “pop the question”.  I would try to get hints from him and give him hints that I was “ready” for us to get married.  But like most “boys” he seemed oblivious to my call.  But it was on Christmas Eve of 2002, things changed.  Jimmy called me early in the afternoon as I was preparing Christmas dinner for the first time for my family and his (about 50 people).  He wanted to open Christmas presents.  Have you lost your mind!  I’m in the middle of preparing dinner for our families.  He pressed and came over to my house with 15 Christmas presents for me.  As we embraced, I was discreetly “patting him down” in search for a small ring box.  Not there.  Disappointment set in has i played along and open all the boxes.  The gifts ranged from cooking utensils, space heater, shower head, book but no ring.  I got to the last gift and a little perturbed I was finished playing and ready to take my broken heart to finish Christmas dinner has I prepared my heart for another year of hoping for a ring.  Jimmy was persistent and wouldn’t let me leave till I open the last gift.  It was a long, slim box and as women  we are poised to recognize long, skinny boxes generally imply jewelry.  As I open the box, my heart sank for I was right no ring again this year.  It was a gold necklace.  A thin gold chain.  Tears filling my eyes I knew I had to get back to my business at hand before I became emotional with disappointment.  But Jimmy wouldn’t let me.  He was so annoying persistent.  Finally, he suggested I remove the necklace from the box and read the words.  At first, I pulled the box close to my eyes so that i could read the inscription.  All around the necklace, the words i love you encircled the chain.  I smiled thinking how sweet but not what I wanted.  Again, he insisted I put the necklace on.  I did no want to play this game anymore  but I played along with his persistence  when out came a beautiful, sparkling diamond solitaire and without me knowing Jimmy had gotten on one knee and proposed to me and the rest is history. That was the year the turkey was raw and complete with those nasty giblets still in the plastic bag stuffed in the cavity of the bird.  My family was sweet has everyone waited their turn to finish cooking their turkey in the microwave and the dressing was a flop.  But I didn’t care for I was engaged to the most wonderful man and now my thoughts where not on mistletoe but wedding planning!!!!!

Have a Happy Thanksgiving and I will be hoping for those sparkling engagement rings with you. Call me when you get one and we will talk about weddings.  Cheers!