Jolene had been expecting to be asked for months.  We had talked about getting married and had even gone through marriage preparation books and premarital counseling.  We also did some shopping for her engagement ring, so it was no surprise to her that I would pop the question sometime.  The big question was . .  . when?!

I purposefully waited knowing that I wanted to at least make the proposal a surprise.  Jolene was at work when the first rose was delivered.  Just one rose that day.  The next day, another rose . . . just one.  The next day, another.  And the trend continued.  Certainly, she knew something was up, but the question of when still remained.  It wasn't until the 18th day that the rose looked different.  It was delivered with a hand written poem and instructions to remove one petal of the rose at a time.  She followed the instructions well and by the end she discovered a ring.  Looking up with tears in her eyes, she saw me approaching and then kneeling on one knee to ask for her hand in marriage.  All of her colleagues had gathered round and cheered when she said yes.  I had planned ahead with her boss to have an engagement party in the break room and we all celebrated together.  Wondering why 18 roses?  It was one rose for every month we had been together.  With God's blessing we will now create a garden!