A Marriage Proposal

So I received my first marriage proposal... in the most uncharacteristic manner. The man did not bother to get down on his knees; but if the rule is that the man should be looking up at the woman while proposing, then he didn't break the rule. After all, I was standing and he was sitting. So he was looking up at me.

When he proposed, he did not use flowery language or begin with a 15 minute soliloquy about love and marriage. It was direct, short, and focused -- "Will you marry me?"

My reply? A smile and a gentle "no."

Well, you see, since my move to the new unit within my apartment, I have been walking to work by a different route. That route, unfortunately, has a lot of homeless people still sleeping while I'm walking to my work. One of the homeless men decided to propose to me. And while flattered, I certainly could not accept the offer without knowing who the man is.

All of which led me to think back to a question that my friend asked while we were in law school... and a hypothetical question of would you marry someone who was homeless and penniless? I'm pretty sure I was unable to answer that question at the time -- if that would be a quality that would deter me from marrying someone if you truly loved that person. Of course, this was a different scenario, since the man and I did not know each other.

But I was gently bemused to get my first proposal (I took it as a compliment) ... and have since then changed my route to work. I wouldn't want to be asked more than once and wouldn't want to give same answers over and over! ;)