What can I say—the title pretty much says it all! I’m getting married! My fiancé, Brian, proposed to me after he took me to see Alvin Ailey American Dance Theatre at New York City Center back in January. I totally knew it was coming; I accidentally peeped the ring in his top drawer earlier in the day. With my usual inability to control my reactions or keep a secret, I immediately yelped, began laughing uncontrollably, and immediately confessed my crime. Post-show, we had the most beautiful meal at Danny Meyer’s 2 Michelin-star restaurant, The Modern and it was everything I could have imagined. We were SO ready to start our lives together.
But that was before.
It still feels surreal to say this, but the world has fundamentally changed since we got engaged. We’re deep in the midst of the global coronavirus pandemic while living right in the middle of the epicenter.
Brian is a high school teacher, so “hello, home school!” I changed jobs—I accepted an offer for a directorship at a PR firm before quarantine began, and found myself tumbling headfirst into a whole new job via Zoom almost a month into it. I’m incredibly grateful that we both still have jobs and are healthy, even as we’re surrounded by so much savagely unnecessary loss and death.
The November wedding that we had planned sits in limbo—not officially canceled yet, but no one really believing that it will happen as we planned. How can we even think of celebrating our happy day (in Mexico!) when we cannot even confidently leave our house? How can I plan a celebration when I see so many planning funerals?
It’s been quite the pre-marital test, that’s for sure. I’ve decided that I’ll keep Brian, as I’m pretty sure that he is one of the only people in the entire universe that I can imagine tolerating being trapped in a one-bedroom apartment 24/7 with. I can’t wait to spend my forever with him and make it official. Sometime in the future. Hopefully, sometime soon.
