So background: In early 2023 Michelle and I had talked about an engagement ring for her, but she couldn't decide on a design she liked. After some back and forth for a few months, one day she gave me her grandmother's wedding ring and said, "Its totally up to you, but if you wanted, you could propose to me with this ring." In my brain, I read that as "Here's a ring, marry me." Fast forward to April: Michelle and I went out to dinner at I.D. in Delafield, where we had gone on our 2nd date (would highly recommend the truffle fries if you're ever in the area!). After dinner, we walked down along the river to a spot that had become "our bench", where I had first put my arm around Michelle on our 3rd date. We sat on the swinging bench watching the sunset together and chatting. At this point my plan had been that when Michelle would stand up, I would go down on my knee. However, Michelle already had an inkling of what I was planning: (apparently she had a line up of cute, engagement-ready outfits she was working through waiting for me to propose and was down to the last few options), and was waiting for me to propose while we were sitting on the bench. Apparently she forgot about the "down on one knee" gesture and was stubbornly waiting me out, trying to last as long as possible on the bench in the cold to give me more time to pop the question. Sooo, we just (awkwardly) sat there together waiting for the other to make a move. It finally got cold enough that Michelle got up, saying "well I guess we should go", thinking the engagement wasn't going to happen that night and started walking away. I called over to her and opened up my arms like I was going in for a hug, then went down on my knee when she came close. I remember I made my proposal to her, and asked her to marry me, but she just stood there silently smiling and crying, so I had to ask "Soo, is that a yes?" She giggled, and said yes! After that we enjoyed a flight of ice cream, and proceeded to tell the family the good news!