It was a fittingly cold February afternoon in Chicago. I had been planting seeds and scheming logistics for weeks to make sure this “ordinary” walk with Benny would be one we’d never forget. And after coordinating 10 schedules with the Babalians & Thuls, we landed on a weekend that worked for both families to fly in and surprise Alex for what would (hopefully) be an exciting celebration. The walk to remember: Alex and I would typically alternate walking Benny during our 3 slots of morning, afternoon, and evening. Sometimes we’d do walks together - but normally that’d be on weekends or a sunny summer night, not necessarily a frigid Friday afternoon. This was bound to raise some eyebrows. Alex, being the most curious person on planet earth, naturally had some questions around why I suggested/demanded we must do this Friday afternoon walk together. And with so much at stake, I had to dig my heels in with a passionate stance. There was a big open field we’d take Benny to all the time. And in the city - those aren’t exactly all over the place, so we frequented this field quite a bit. It turned into a very memorable landmark for us. And Benny really does love when we’d take him there and stand on opposite sides of the field; he’d sprint back and forth searching for us as we hide behind trees. His huge tongue flopping around, living his best life. Really had to lean into this & make sure Alex came on this walk. “Dont do it for me, do it for Benny…..” Without (much) resistance, Alex and I headed out for the walk through the back door. As soon as we departed - both families snuck around to the front and headed up to our apartment to decorate. After what felt like the longest 9 minute walk ever, we approached the field. Annie (my sister) was camped out behind a tree ready to capture all the photos. We’d had a practice session earlier in the week - she knew what to do. Leading the way - I took a few steps into the center of the field, cut Benny loose, and pivoted mid-snow to take a knee. One of the more athletic moves I’ve executed. It truly was a blackout spiel, fumbling over words and not even knowing what words were coming out of my mouth. Eventually I made it to the end, and I do remember Alex saying yes to marriage - that part was impossible to forget. Benny went crazy (and somewhat took over the moment, as he tends to do), Annie came out and celebrated with us. We laughed, took pictures, and answered a lot of Alex’s questions. More surprises waited for us at home. After ~20 minutes, we headed back to the apartment and Alex was surprised by her whole family & mine hanging out in our (full capacity) living room. She was so happy everyone could share the moment with us. Surprisingly enough, everything went off without a hitch and it was an incredible day/weekend we’ll never forget.