Clement and I are engaged. We have been talking about marriage for a while, Clement actually asked me before the trip but I requested a re-do which led to several conversations about expectations surrounding the engagement. In Malawi engagement is a process. After the couple decides that they want to become engaged, they each confide in an uncle, the uncles meet and assess the potential partner, then report to the parents, at that point - if everyone is satisfied - there are larger family discussions followed by a formal engagement ceremony. Clement asked me how people become engaged in the States. I told him about the ring and asking the woman's parents for a blessing, then about how the guy kneels down and asks the question, of course in a beautiful memorable setting. Frankly, it sounds a bit silly and regimented. I told him to forget about the ring. Clearly he has my parents' blessing since they've been telling people for weeks that we are engaged. I felt the kneeling part was unnecessary, but I liked the idea of a nice moment in which I was awake. How it happened. . . I was on the couch typing emails, Clement was sitting across from me in a chair studying his new phone and he asked, "So, can we get engaged?" I know he is the one I want to share my life with and I realized that I don't need Hallmark or Hollywood to direct the beginning, I just want to begin. The phone and computer were put aside and the moments after were wonderful.
