I Bring You Good News!

But It’s A Secret!

Dan and our daughter’s boyfriend, Brian, have this “thing”! Brian and Caity have been dating, or “going steady” (Do people still say that?”) since 2007 OR on the very FIRST day Caity went away to college. Now listen: Our daughter is a knock-out. Back in high school, we almost had to move to another church due to the turmoil she created among the boys in Youth Group. Seriously! She still till this day does not realize how gorgeous she is. Although there was a line of eager young men always at our door, Caity was always disinterested and completely unaffected.

Until Brian.

So, how is it this blue eyed boy from Elkins managed to keep coming home with our Caity? Ever since that first semester of college she has been bringing him on the 3 and ½ hour trip from Wesleyan College to Berkeley Springs. At times her brothers, then 2 and 3 years old, raced past Caity on the porch upon arrival to greet, not her, but her boyfriend, Brian in the driveway! Famous for the original pout, she wasn’t too happy about that.

Wellllllllllllllll… this year, Brian came again, again, for Thanksgiving. He and Dan will spend hours either watching college football or out in our garage. For the life of me, I just can’t figure out why a couple of guys like to stand around a freezing cold, dirty garage with three cats and two stinking dogs!

Maybe it’s the Becks and cigars. Who knows?! But Dan and Brian can talk out there into the wee hours of the morning about only God knows what.

Until Thanksgiving. I never ask. Normally, I go to bed or fall asleep with one of the boys. Well… the Saturday after Thanksgiving last, I got up AGAIN at around 12:30 a.m. from sleeping with Levi and came down to clean up the kitchen. (Thanks for leaving me the dishes, Caity!) Brian and Dan were just coming in from the freezing cold. Again! Dan said to me, “Brian has something to tell you!”

“Oh reeeeeealy?!” Hummmmm, I’m thinking! I’m much too young to be a Grandma – Hahaha! LOL! Wonder what this could be about? So, I busy myself, as ususal, cleaning up the dishes that Caity didn’t do… and wait. Brian’s not saying anything. Hummmm….

Finally, he said to me (and by now, I can tell he is nervous! Or, it must be one too many Becks), “I am planning to get Caity a ring for Christmas!” Oh… he’s going to propose!

“WHAT!?????” By now, he had followed me over to the Christmas tree where I was turning out the lights for the day. “WHAT!” I turned around and slapped him, HARD, on the chest! (Oh no, I thought, should I have done that? I may be only five feet tall; but believe me, I can carry a very hard punch. Good thing that wasn’t Dan. Every time I do that to him, he tells me that I’m going set his defibrillator off to give him a good shock in the chest!)

A “shock”! Can.we.talk? After I chest slapped Brian, I yelled “Get Out!” Maybe that wasn’t a good thing to do either! But it wasn’t one of those “get out of here” phrases; rather, it was a “Holy Cow! My baby girl will soon be a fiancé!”

So, after I got the rundown on college graduations, grad schools, and well, getting married,… it was nearly 2:30 a.m. on Sunday morning. Then I realized, “Oh no. I can’t tell anyone. And Christmas is a month away!”

Now it’s only four days until we will celebrate the birth of Jesus AND our daughter’s engagement. I’ll have to admit it to you all. “I CAN’T KEEP A SECRET!” So please don’t tell anyone or I am in serious trouble.

Secrets! Or, just having some amazing good news that is so beyond cool; or carrying around good news with you for days which could literally make you explode at the seams! That is what the past month has been like. You can ask my husband, it is really hard for me to keep this good news quiet!

Then, on Saturday, Brian showed me the… (drum roll)… ring! You can see it all over his face. He is so excited about this.

And the ring! It is a precious symbol of his love for my baby girl.

So, as a 45 year old, gray haired, mother of four here in West Virginia on this December 21st, Winter Solstice, and Lunar Eclipse, it is 4:30 a.m. and my house is sleeping....  except for me.  Although it will only be quiet for a few hours, I am here thinking about my little girl.  I also ponder God’s love for us on a quiet Christmas morning when He broke the silence of 400 plus years with the cry of a little boy, Jesus.

“And there were shepherds living out in the fields nearby,

keeping watch over their flocks at night. An angel of the Lord appeared to them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were terrified. But the angel said to them,

"Do not be afraid. I bring you good news of great joy that will be for all the people.” Luke 2:8–14

So, if God can keep quiet for 400 years, I guess I can keep a secret for just four more days; but, like Gabriel, I feel like blowing a horn and spilling the “good news”!

By now, if you are reading this post, I have been permitted to publish the story and make public the news of Brian and Caity's engagement.  Guess what?  She said YES!