Will You...

Five years ago tonight I returned home after a trip to Albany to our humble little apartment.  Granted the complex often had the smell of curry wafting through the halls, and granted the kitchen had its last facelift before TVs were in color, it was our first shared address and I loved it!    When I opened the door, I found a boyfriend who spent the day laying rose petals and pouring champagne so he could ask me a very important little question...

Will You Marry Me? 

YES!!  My answer was Yes!  A resounding Yes! 

It amazes me five years later all the meanings to that 4-word question.  Yes, Denny was asking me to walk down the aisle and be his bride, and yes he was asking me to wear a gorgeous shiny ring (heck yesss!) and be his wife, but we are continuing to learn the additional meaning of that sentence each day we spend together.  We had no idea all that came along with those four little words!
Tonight for instance the question was, Will You... shop with me for a love seat and deal with my neurotic tastes.  That cushion is too fluffy, that arm of the couch is too round, that pillow pattern is too frumpy.

We've also learned some other Will Yous during this journey...
Will You... go house hunting with me?
Will You... hand me the remote?
Will You... help me study for the GMAT?
Will You... mind if I go golfing, again?
Will You... pour me another cup of coffee to survive studying this statistics test?
Will you... pick up the pizza tonight?
Will you... take me to the hospital?  Something is wrong.
Will you... go with me to the appointment?  We get to hear our baby's heartbeat!

The phrase following the Will You hasn't always been good and it hasn't always been greeted with a pleasant response, but we are in it for the long haul, and it is fun to learn all the questions we will get to answer together.

And if I came home today to find my cute husband down on one knee, asking me "Will You Marry Me... again?"  My answer would be absolutely the same as it was five years ago tonight.