The Proposal

"You have bewitched me, body and soul.  I love you and never wish to be parted from you from this day on."  

Mr. Darcy to Elizabeth Bennett

Ian and Juliette

"You have bewitched me, body and soul.  I love you and never wish to be parted from you from this day on."  

Ian to Juliette

One of the wonderful things about raising sons is having an inside glimpse into "guy land".  I knew what a marriage proposal was like from a woman's point of view; in fact when I was Ian's age I  accepted a marriage proposal from his dad.  But I had a different perspective thinking about what a man goes through as I watched my son orchestrate the perfect proposal for The Lovely Juliette.

Julie has been "The Lovely Juliette" - in capitals, always lovely - since we first met .  Who wouldn't love a girl who regularly brings chocolate dipped strawberries to the house, enjoys hanging out watching movies, and is a talented artist?  So, naturally, I was thrilled when Ian called me up this year and told me that he intended to propose.

From that moment on I felt like I was part of an undercover assignment with a top-secret organization.  There was a ring to order, with funds from a secret account, delivered to a separate address.  Ideas for the ring needed to obtained by a friend through diversionary tactics.  The ring needed to be delivered to the UK using a private courier.  Locations for the proposal needed to be researched.  As it turns out, espionage has nothing on proposal planning!

 

Meanwhile, Ian was also taking care of some of the other formal rituals to a marriage proposal; specifically, asking Julie's dad for his blessing.  Mitch is a very nice man (a sentimental mensch according to stories Julie tells) but his intimidating "papa bear" tendencies are legendary (also from stories Julie tells!).  But Ian upheld this daunting part of tradition and invited Mitch to dinner.

Plans continued on both sides of the Atlantic.  Julie is a huge Jane Austen fan and one of her favorite movies is the 2005 version of "Pride and Prejudice".  Ian was determined to find the spot in England where Darcy proposes to Elizabeth in the rain.

The ring, a beautiful Maine tourmaline, arrived with my friend Barb.  Abbie did the research to discover that the location for the "Pride and Prejudice" shot was a formal English garden called Stourhead in Wiltshire, at the Temple to Apollo.  Mitch, apparently enjoying his hamburger at Denny's, said, "Sure, go ahead and ask."    (I'm paraphrasing, but I'm sure it was something along those lines!)

At last the fateful day arrived.  Ian and Julie had been in England a week and we drove down to Stourhead.  It was beautiful!  The gardens were built around a man-made lake created in the 1700's.  A path around the lake, intended to evoke Aeneas' descent into the underworld from Greek mythology, includes several temples to the gods.  There are also stone bridges, a grotto, a gothic cottage and other classic landmarks.

Temple of Apollo from a distance

The gardens were in full color, with all of the azaleas and rhododendrons in bloom.  It was stunning! We toured the estate and then began our walk around the lake, stopping at monuments and admiring the incredible views.

View through the trees

Owl Tree

Lilypads

Romantic Cows

Hobbit Pass

Entrance to the Grotto

Inside the Grotto

Julie looking out over the lake

Thomas Kinkade cottage

Pantheon

Temple to Flora and stone bridge

View of the Lake

At last we climbed the hill to Apollo's Temple.  I discreetly stopped to rest while they went on to the monument.  And, in a movie-perfect flourish, Ian dropped to one knee and recited Darcy's proposal.  The Lovely Juliette said a tearful "yes" and they were engaged.

The engaged couple

When we talked about it a few days later I told Ian how proud I was of the way he had gone about planning this loving gesture, and also how thrilled I was that Julie would be officially joining our family.  He explained, "Mom, hopefully I'm only going to do this once in my life.  I wanted to make sure I did it right."  Mission accomplished!

Bristol High Cross

Out of My Time

"....And time for reflection with colleagues is for me a lifesaver; it is not just a nice thing to do if you have the time. It is the only way you can survive. "   Margaret J. Wheatley

2011-2012 UK/US Fulbright Teachers

I had the opportunity this week to meet with my Fulbright colleagues in the beautiful city of Belfast, Northern Ireland to reflect on our year teaching in the UK.  It was a time of laughter, insight, good food, more laughter, a beverage or two, and maybe even a few tears as we shared stories from our lives here in the UK.

On the road to the Giant's Causeway

Our adventure started with a road trip up the coast.  I had rented a car and quickly filled it with friends to drive up to the Giant's Causeway.  I hadn't seen most of these teachers since our meeting with the British Council last October in London.  We've been in contact through emails and Facebook, but nothing compares with having the opportunity to talk in person.  So, we talked.  Non-stop.  In between the laughter and the stories we admired the stunning Irish coastline.  And my driving left-handed stick improved.  Sort of.

Cliffs down to the sea

Basalt columns on the Causeway

This would be such a fun place to kayak!

Rope bridge crossing at Carrick-a-Rede

Famous quote by Nicole, "I just remembered I don't like bridges!"

Hard to tell where the sky ends

Flat calm

This looks like a hillside mosaic

The rocky shoreline reminds me of Maine

I realize I've included a crazy amount of photos, but I actually edited quite a bit.  It was beautiful.

Out at the John Hewitt Pub

 Over the next two days we continued to talk about our experiences and share thoughts as we processed the year.  I love to listen to people's stories and here are some highlights:  Karen wearing her dress robes to meetings at Eton, Norrie's students rising to greet her at The High School of Glasgow, Tim's wife being advised of Scottish weather ("..there's no bad weather in Scotland, only inappropriate clothing"!), Nikki's amazing student sketch books, Celia's gardening club, Chrissy's "Day in the Life" video swapping, Abby's photos of student art and so much more.  It was such a gift to be able to take some time out to reflect on my own experience, share it with others and refine my thoughts by talking together.

"There is no power for change greater than a community discovering what it cares about."  MJW

It was interesting to be in the city of Belfast to do this work.  I had a very limited knowledge of the struggles that have taken place here in the past forty years but a guided tour arranged by Fulbright helped me to gain a small understanding of the sectarian divide that this community is working to heal. I  also heard from diverse members of the city about the Troubles; everyone from the headteacher of an integrated school to my cab driver had opinions to share about the changes happening in Belfast.  I was fortunate to meet Derek Poole, Project Director for LINC (Local Initiative for Needy Communities), who continues to work for peace and reconciliation.  He had participated in exchanges through his work and it was interesting to talk with him about the challenges and growth that happens when you put yourself out of your comfort zone.

One of the things I discovered about my own Fulbright journey is that it has forced me to think about what it means to be American and teach in the US.  I'm still mulling this all over - and I have five more weeks of school, so the journey continues!

Queen's University

Titanic museum

Belfast City Hall with Olympic Rings

Isle of Skye

"On a fine morning there is not in the whole world a prettier sheet of water than Loch Eishart.  Everything about it is wild, beautiful, and lonely." ~ Alexander Smith

 "I've got the big sky to hold me..." ~ Rachel Loy

 We were supposed to take a ferry but we missed it.  We were supposed to have sun but it was overcast. We were supposed to drive around for a few hours but we stayed.  The Isle of Skye captivated us.

Skye is the largest and most northern isle of the Scottish Inner Hebrides.  The landscape is striking, with inlets, waterfalls and the dramatic Cuillin Mountains.  But mostly there is the sky.....huge expanses of amazing sky!

Juliette, a highland lass

"A wee hairy coo"

Exploring the waterfalls

Enjoying the mountain views

The long and winding road

Because we had missed the ferry, we ended up driving miles and miles out of our way to cross the bridge into Skye instead.  Fortunately we were so far north that we still had daylight to enjoy the scenic drive to the hostel at the base of the Cuillen Mountains.  We even had time to stop and visit with some highland cows!

Looking out across the Loch

The hostel was built in the 1930's and the design was based on the alpine hostels of Austria.  It was full of hikers preparing to challenge themselves on the surrounding hills.  And a spider, that launched a daring but fatal attack on Abbie's shoulder!

Such a beautiful sense of space

Ian and the Lovely Juliette 

There were castles to explore, trails to hike, beaches to stroll, and vistas to admire. Despite the stormy weather we found ourselves falling in love with Skye.  

Golden light after a storm

Sunset

"We should climb that peak!"

Everywhere we looked there were more spectacular views

Just in case we forgot!

Abbie on a beach

Rocky shore

They needed their wool coats - it was cold!

Jan Brett Trouble with Trolls

One of the trails we took

Ian getting low for a good shot

Skye was one of those places where we ran out of time.  We would have loved to have done more hiking and spent more time wandering around the island.  Someday I'll go back to Skye, and I might even make the ferry!

Flowers in a castle wall

Desk with an amazing view

The dining room at Dunvegan Castle

Dunvegan Castle

Fish & Chips on the breakwater in Portree

Eilean Donan Castle

One last view

Celtic knot bracelets