Five years ago, Jordan asked me to be his wife. I’m still amazed and humbled that he wanted me as his bride. He’s an amazing man and its my joy to walk through life by his side. Here’s the story:
Days before New Years – the day of the historic Tsunami to be exact – I flew home to the States after spending 15 days doing missions work in northern India. Jordan picked me up at RDU and drove us to Annapolis to spend a belated Christmas with my family. I had gotten very sick while in India, so the first few days at home were mostly comprised of R&R. By New Years Eve, I had regained my health. Jordan had given me a Mikimoto pearl necklace before leaving for India and had promised two more gifts upon my return. My health returned, he now gave me the remaining gifts.
Jordan had completely restored my very slow, very die-ing laptop – Gift #2. As I opened my newly functional computer, I saw an invitation. Gift #3 – New Years Day in Washington D.C. I was so excited! New Years Day could not have been more beautiful. Clear blue skies with cool winter breezes. We took an early morning Metro ride into the city and spent the entire day in our nation’s capitol. We took in the sites, walking from monument to monument. It felt as though we had the whole city to ourselves as we barely saw other people out and about. That afternoon, we ventured over to Georgetown – my favorite part of D.C. – to walk the streets and peruse the unique shops. It was a blissful day indeed. Perfect weather. Beautiful sites. Time with my best friend. Perfect. Riding the Metro home that night, I told Jordan that the day could not have been more perfect. He simply smiled and held me close. Little did I know the day’s best was yet to come.
As we pulled into Mom’s driveway in Annapolis, Jordan told me my Christmas present was officially over. Anything from that point on that night was simply just because he loved me. Mom and Corinne met us at the door as whisked me upstairs. “Get her ready for our evening, ladies. We’ll need to be leaving in 20 minutes,” Jordan said. You see, Jordan had brought me home straight from the airport upon returning from India, so I only had casual clothes with me and most of them still smelled of curry. 20 minutes later, I was stressed in a black sequined outfit, ready for a night on the town. Walking to the top of the stairs, I saw my Jordan – waiting for me at the bottom, handsomely sporting a suit & tie. I had never seen him so dressed up and grew even more curious of what he had in store.
“Since you just got back from several weeks in India, I just wanted to take you out for a classy evening before we head back to Lynchburg. How does The Melting Pot sound?” What a delightful surprise! Of course, Jordan was always doing sweet things for me, so I wasn’t suspicious of anything. He had a certain table set aside of us with roses waiting. We spent the next two hours in conversation over delicious fondue, talking about everything from India to our day in D.C. to the future. I couldn’t help but keep saying, “This has been the perfect day!”
Once dinner was over, Jordan suggested we head to downtown Annapolis to walk around. Downtown is one of my favorite places on the planet, especially during the Christmas season. All the historic buildings are decorated in their Christmas finest with beautiful lights illuminating the docks. A huge Christmas tree filled the roundabout circle by the water and white lights lit the sails of the boats in the bay. How I love Annapolis! We parked down by the docks to walk around a bit. Now if you’ve known Jordan for any amount of time, you’ll know that the man rarely gets cold and even when he does, a light jacket suits him just fine. Polar opposite of myself! Well that night was rather cold, so he had brought a wool coat along just in case. As we got out of the truck, I was already quite cold and asked him if I could wear his coat on top of mine. Much to my surprise, he said no! (to this day, this is still the only time he’s ever declined this chivalrous act) “No. No, I’m going to wear it. Let’s go in to Starbucks to get you some hot tea.”
Once I had some delicious hot tea in hand, we walked down to the docks. What a beautiful night it was. A full moon shone brightly in the clear night sky, reflecting on the calm Severn River below. Sailboats and yachts bobbed up and down in the water while the lights of the Chesapeake Bay Bridge could be seen in the distance. Not a soul was in sight. Just me and my Jordan on that cold New Years night. Arriving at the water’s edge, Jordan pulled a letter from his coat pocket. He proceeded to read me his heartfelt words, professing his love and all that he adored in me. His letter spoke of our relationship and our journey to that point. He spoke of all he saw in me now and in the future. He wrote of the wife and mother he knew I would be one day. As he read the two pages, I was overwhelmed. This amazing man loved me. Me! Even to this day, I’m still amazed by it. As I held my hot tea, his words washed over me and all I could feel was grateful and blessed. But still not suspicious at all. Quite clueless actually. Jordan had written me many beautiful letters before so I simply thought, “How lovely! A New Years letter!” He finished the letter and held me close. “I love you, Patience.” “I love you too, Jordan.” And with that, I took another warming sip of my tea. Clueless.
As soon as I had lowered my cup, my heart stopped. There before me was the man I loved, down on one knee with a box in his hand. With a nervous smile and love in his eyes, Jordan Leino asked me to be his wife! He had pulled the ring from his coat pocket when I sipped my tea. (No wonder he wouldn’t let me wear it!) I quickly said yes and he rose to wrap his strong arms around me. Burying my head in his chest, I was in utter shock! He had completely taken me by surprise. A few moments later, Jordan held up the little box. “Um…I’ve got a ring too if you’d like to see it.” I had been so overwhelmed by his proposal that I’d completely forgotten about the ring. And what a ring! He slipped the platinum and diamonds on to my finger and my shock grew all the more. It was gorgeous! We stayed on the docks for a while, Jordan beaming from ear to ear and me still in a state of amazement. The man of my dreams – a man who far exceeded any hope I’d ever had – he wanted to spend the rest of his life with me. All of his plans and detailed work had culminated in the perfect proposal. When we both were too cold to stay outside any longer, we left downtown and headed back to my mom’s house to announce our engagement. What a night it was. It had truly been the perfect day.
So there you have it. Nine months after the proposal, Jordan and I wed on a beautiful fall day in Maryland. We have been married for over 4 years now. They have been the greatest, most adventure-filled years of my life. I’m looking forward to spending the rest of my days as Jordan’s wife. The best is yet to come.
A Life Of Patience 