Tying the Sailing Knot
My husband has been an avid sailor for the past 12 years and since meeting him, he has taught me the finer points of sailing, navigation, and safety on the water. About two years into our relationship, he (and his sailboat) crashed into a harbor wall during a storm, causing significant damage and destroying the boat….this happened towards the end of the sailing season.
In the spring, about 6 months later, he took me to the spot where it happened and told me about how glad he was that I was in his life, and how even big losses like crashing a boat paled in comparison to how he’d feel if he lost me. He continued, stating that I’d been with him through thick and thin, always a supportive anchor in his life….as we sat on a piece of driftwood in the cool early spring, he talked about how every sailboat he’d looked at since he had considered in terms of how it would work for a family, one that he wanted to have with me.
Then he pulled out a gorgeous ring, placed it on my finger, and as he is prone to use ridiculous puns, joked that he wanted to tie the “knot” with me…he had patiently sat through teaching me how to properly tie sailing knots for weeks, so that comment was especially thoughtful. It wasn’t until we were nearly back to his house that I realized I hadn’t said yes!
Between my tears of happiness and our hugs and kisses, I hadn’t gotten a chance to accept his proposal. To this day he teases me about it, and his best man managed to work that story into his toast at our wedding, which happened exactly one year later.
