Planning a surprise proposal for someone who does not like surprises is… a bold choice. Possibly a dangerous one. But all I knew was that I loved her, I wanted our family involved, and I trusted God to handle the rest. So I committed and prayed for the best.

For years I kept telling myself the same thing. Wait until I match. Wait until residency is over. Wait until fellowship. Wait until I make more money. Wait until life is “perfect.” Then one day it hit me. What am I actually waiting for? I already had the most important things in my life,  So I stopped waiting.

I decided to do it at our annual family Christmas party during our White Elephant gift exchange. I secretly rigged the game so she would be the very last person to pick. She had no idea. and neither did the majority of the family. The pressure was real.

The final gift was hidden until the end and looked like a normal wrapped box. She opened it and found another box inside. Then another. And another. And another. Seven boxes total. Each one smaller than the last. At this point the room was laughing, she was confused, and I was trying not to give myself away.

When she finally opened the last box and looked up, I was already on one knee. Surrounded by family, in the middle of laughter, chaos, and love, I asked her to marry me. She said yes. The rest is history in the making.