Five years of dating and four amazing trips to Cabo!  Once my grandfather’s timeshare at Misiones Del Cabo, we now proudly call it our own.  Last year when we arrived, our friends at “recepcion” greeted us with “welcome home!”  Silvia and Armando our faithful swim-up bartenders greeted us with “you’re not married yet–KiloGram-o??!! (Silvia had a terrible time remembering Graham’s name, when Graham logically explained to her that it’s the same as saying Kilo-gram, he earned his nickname of KiloGram-o).  Two days pass and Mar-chella is getting a little antsy…five days pass and I don’t have a care in the world.

Second to last day before heading back to the real world, we go for our hour-plus hike along the Sea of Cortez to the “party-beach” and reward ourselves with a bucket (or two, maybe three) of beer…a hilarioulsy fun day of making friends with other tables, watching the Mango Deck side-shows, and oh, yes, Graham Vail entering a beer chugging contest.  The host of the show must have sensed he was a mean-beer-drinking-Montanan, because he saved Graham for the very last round when the crazy vacationing Americans vs. the smooth Mango Deck Mexicans were all tied-up.  Threatening music begins to play and out from behind the bar comes the Mango Deck beer drinking champion.  But is this Sigma Chi UPS alum shaking in his flip-flops???  Hell no!  The gun fires and they chug, “GOOOO GRAHAMMMMMM” I scream and flash pictures.  It’s so close! Damn.  Well, maybe Graham losing this challenge is the thing to be proud of??!!

We jump in a cab and head to one of our favorite dinner spots, Latitude 22, and eat greasy burgers and buy Graham a t-shirt with their slogan, “No Bad Days.”  I say, let’s walk home, the night is young and it’s beautiful.  Graham says, no, let’s get a cab, it’s a long walk.  But, it’ll cost $20 and it’s only a mile.  No, Graham replies, we’re taking a Cab.  Okay!?

Home in time for the sunset, we sit on our lovely balcony in that golden Cabo glow (best view in Cabo, see for yourself in the sunset photo below)

Will you marry me?

Gasping noises!!!  What?  Are you seriously proposing to me now?????

Yes, down on one knee…Yes, Yes, Yes

I make him ask me three more times that night just so I can hear it.

The Ring:
The beautiful European-cut diamond that Graham had set for me is the same diamond his Dad proposed to his Mom with over 41 years ago. Rita, Graham’s mom, shares her memories:

“When I first saw it, this diamond was set in a rectangular platinum pin with small diamonds and etched designs around it (I have the original pin and have mounted a Yogo sapphire in the center where the diamond was).  The diamond belonged to Pop’s (Graham’s grandfather) mother Katherine Nicholas Vail.  When your Dad proposed to me, December of 1969, he showed me the pin and we picked out my engagement mounting in Chicago a few days later.”

For those of you who know me well, you know how deeply I cherish family treasures and the stories that truly give them value.  I feel not just Graham’s love when I glance at my left hand, but the love of my truly amazing new parents and generations past.