Rules of Engagement - by Katie

It seems like every time I turn around lately, someone is sporting a brand new diamond solitaire on their left hand. I can count 7 friends, coworkers, and acquaintences who have gotten engaged in the last few months. It's just about as much as a single girl can take.

I'm glad that when I was little I didn't have one of those major princess wedding fantasies. I'm also glad that I didn't take my mother's admonitions against pre-marital sex to heart but I digress. My parents like to make dire proclamations about how I'm going to have to get married in their back yard since they have no money and I pretend to be shocked but really, I don't need a big wedding. Maybe my parents' back yard is not the locale I would choose, and even though to be perfectly honest I kind of like the idea of a money and time are no object wedding, planned out picture perfectly suited to my tastes and preferences, I'm realistic. Money is an object and time, well, I'm not getting any younger. As long as I get to wear my grandmother's dress, my dad gets to walk me down the aisle, and I have a chocolate fountain at my reception, I'll be happy.

Meanwhile I have fantasized about the proposal since I was a little girl. I don't need a fancy expensive ring or an elaborately laid out plan. All I ask for is the perfect script. I imagine that he (whoever he may be) will say just the right thing, just like a movie, and I will know that someone actually wants to spend his life with me. Hey, I'm in no rush to get married, but for goodness sake, I think it would be nice to be asked.