Stories » When I proposed to his daughter Lyndsay
by Shawn 20/09/2012
I called Dave from work on the afternoon of September 20, 2012 - the day I planned to propose to Lyndsay. My plan was to surprise her and get down on one knee later that evening on Parliament Hill. First, I wanted his permission to marry his beautiful and amazing daughter.
The things I remember most about that conversation was how happy and excited Dave was for us, but also how worried he became. He wasn't worried about me proposing, or that his daughter was making a huge mistake (!) but he was extremely worried he now held a secret that he'd need to keep from his beloved wife Glenda.
Lying was obviously not something Dave did, because he didn't like to lie, also because he was terrible at it. He had a no poker face. Every emotion Dave felt was immediately transferred to the outside world through his expressions and his contagious smile. Dave knew this, and had zero-confidence he could keep anything from his wife.
The problem was, Dave really wanted Lyndsay to give her Mom the good news herself. We mulled over a few different ideas before settling on a plan: Dave would avoid seeing Glenda altogether! For about 3 hours his task was to avoid any and all conversation with his wife. He'd busy himself with yard work as long as possible. That would guarantee he'd keep our secret safe until Lyndsay called with the (hopefully) good news of our engagement.
When we talked a few hours later, both Dave and I had succeeded in our missions, but he told us how tough it was to keep our secret, and how close he came to spilling the beans. In fact, he had avoided Glenda to such a degree that she became suspicious and was getting frustrated with him just before we called. Luckily we called right on time :)
It always makes me smile thinking of how hard it was for Dave to keep our secret, and how the only way he could was to avoid talking with Glenda for those few hours. But, to anyone who has spent more than a few minutes with them it's not surprising at all; they were made for each other and were rarely ever apart. Love you Dave. Love you Glenda.
A random picture of Dave - see more, upload your own, or have another.