Between the end of Nate’s academic year and the beginning of his summer stint with the Army, he had 8 free days. We viewed that as a golden opportunity for more time with my parents, so we arranged for him to stay with them. I would stay there, too, and our hope was that by the end of those days, Mom would finally sanction our decision to marry.

We also hoped both Mom and Dad would surrender their idea of a year-long engagement. We didn’t want to cross them, but 6 months was our maximum wait-time.

The two of us thoroughly enjoyed being together and continued making plans. Nate accompanied me to my kindergartens, and let me “show him off” to faculty friends. After work we shared meals with friends, went to the movies, helped Mom and Dad with household projects, took miles-long walks, and “window shopped” engagement rings.

A special highlight was when Nate’s parents drove 4 hours just to meet my folks and share a day with all of us. Everything went well, we were thankful.

From my journal:

I’m learning so much more about Nate this week. I’m convinced he is someone who will never reject me. He loved me long before I ever loved him, and as a result, my feelings for him have been able to grow at a steady, unhindered pace. With all the candid discussing we’ve done, I think we’ll have a head start on marriage together.

As for Mom, at the end of the week she did something that took me by surprise. Nate had made a big effort to win her approval, watching her closely and offering to help with whatever she was doing. He’d brought her gifts, (something no other boyfriend had done) and had given her a hug each time we’d returned home (also not done by the others).

She began warming to him, and became willing to negotiate for a wedding date. Somewhere between a short engagement (us) and a long one (them), we settled on Thanksgiving weekend. Mom liked the idea of sharing our turkey dinner with relatives who would come for the wedding, and we liked the idea of a brief engagement.

Back to my journal and Mom’s surprise:

Two years earlier, Mom had bought a special gift to present to me when she thought I had found my prince charming. It would be her way of sanctioning my choice. At the end of our 8 days together, she presented me with that gift – a small glass slipper a la Cinderella – telling me she was sure Nate was the one. She also said that it was satisfying for her to be sure that I was sure, too. The glass-slipper-surprise was the watershed moment Nate and I had been hoping for with Mom, and now all 4 parents were on board.

At the end of those 8 days, Nate reluctantly got on a bus headed to Ft. Riley, Kansas, nearly 600 miles away. He became a soldier-in-training for 6 weeks and was owned by the Army. But as we kissed goodbye, I made up my mind I wasn’t going to let all that time pass without us being together.

“Love always perseveres.” (1 Corinthians 13:7)