There have been very little things in my life that I have been sure of, but Natalie was the first and only exception. Realizing that I wanted to spend my life with Natalie was the easiest, most crystal clear, and natural decision of my life. Getting the balls to get on stage in front of hundreds of my peers, with no time to prepare, was not as easy.

The truth is, as stupid as it might sound, I knew I wanted to spend the rest of my life with Natalie the first week we were dating. I was just tainted by past relationships where two people aren’t on the same page. I never that I would be ready to talk about marriage with a girl so much younger, but boy, was I wrong.

Natalie loved to talk about it. In fact, she would even point at her bare ring finger as to hint to me that I should put something on it to seal the deal. Natalie and I had already talked about the possibility of getting engaged and even started to dream and talk about what some of our future plans might be. The only thing I had to do was buckle down, make the decision and make the next move.

I wanted the time to be perfect, but most of all I wanted her family to approve. I wanted to ask them in person in respect of their family culture and traditions. Finding a time to get to Dallas to ask them seemed impossible. One day on vacation, I stepped into their room and asked them. HHer mom thought I wanted to get married immediately and asked me what my plans were and her dad didn’t look at me, busy browsing the internet. It was the single most awkward moment of my life. Later I found out her dad probably didn’t understand what I was asking, or maybe he was just in shock.