My mother is the guiding hand in my life and that of my brother's. Her quiet strength, the times we wished she would tell us what we wanted to hear. Her own pains, her own life's dreams suffering from the rigors, the demands of motherhood. She has never expected anything in return for the sleepless [...]

My mother is the guiding hand in my life and that of my brother's. Her quiet strength, the times we wished she would tell us what we wanted to hear. Her own pains, her own life's dreams suffering from the rigors, the demands of motherhood. She has never expected anything in return for the sleepless nights fixing broken hearts, mending sibling fences, opening her wallet and her heart to our mistakes. She has never given less than 110 percent.

I plan the September day perfectly- her birthday so often overlooked in the wake of work, family and other responsibilities. Her best friends of many years invited, favorite foods catered- no mess left for her to clean up, and the chilled Pinot Grigio from her childhood haunts of Sonoma County. Family surrounding her, her granddaughter's colorful decorations and endless chatter fill the air.

I can't resist. I have to look one more time at the beautiful Abazias three stone sapphire right hand ring set in white gold. My brother and I labored to save the money. We remember all of the times Mom slipped us a check for the car payment, the rent, medical emergencies, my divorce or just because. We argued over what it should look like, what we wanted it to say and why.

The three deep blue stones, nestled together by the shining white gold, are more than her birth stone- her favorite stone. They are symbols of everything we are and everything she is. The large deeply colored center stone is her- our sanctuary, the gooey can't live without it stuff that brings us together, holds us together. My brother and I, the complimenting stones nestled on each side of her are perfect mirrors of her. Together, although we don't realize it until we look close, we also support her. We represent all that is good and brilliant in her and she in us. My daughter's blue eyes are hers. When it is darkest, I can hear her voice telling me God doesn't give you more than you can handle and I can feel her hold me close to her. Like the center stone of this ring, my brother and I would never reach our potential if not for her in the middle- holding us up, never letting us give up. I close the box and wait until the sun is setting just over the Rockies that grace her backyard. My brother and I tap our wine glasses to gather our guests attention. Mom is glowing in the orange and dusky pinks only the sunset over the Rockies can have. We thank our family and friends for coming and say simply to our mother how we are everything she is and everything we are we are thankful to her for. It is more than just DNA going into a child when you become a mother-it is your soul and we thank her for giving us all of her depth, beauty and quiet dignity much like the sapphires in this ring. We open the box, my brother slips the ring on her trembling hand, kisses her tear-streaked cheeks and we honor with cheers, claps and tears the woman who has filled out lives with love, laughter and color. Than her granddaughter wants to wear it too!

Dear Abazias, I have decided to tell you the long version; it is such a beautiful story I think it is worth it. This happened just over 1 year ago on the 23rd of December 2005. We were on holidays at Noosa beach in Queensland Australia. I was back for Christmas from the UK where I was studyi [...]

Dear Abazias,

I have decided to tell you the long version; it is such a beautiful story I think it is worth it. This happened just over 1 year ago on the 23rd of December 2005.

We were on holidays at Noosa beach in Queensland Australia. I was back for Christmas from the UK where I was studying at the time. Emmanuel and I had been apart for 3 months, as he had stayed in Australian to work while I was at Oxford studying.

On the day Emmanuel proposed I decided that I would get my nails done (something I had never done before, so it was a real treat). We had been surfing in the morning (Emmanuel is an avid surfer) and he had dropped me at the beauticians in the afternoon about 2 km from where we were staying. At about 4 pm I rang him to come pick me up, but instead he announced that he was going surfing and that I would have to walk home. Mad as can be (as deserting me for the surf is not like Emmanuel at all) I hung up the phone and started storming home. The thing was my parents were coming to visit that evening and I needed to go food shopping so I could have dinner ready. We had agreed that after I had finished getting my nails done we would shop together and prepare dinner for when they arrived around 6:30pm.

Around 6:15pm Emmanuel finally walked in the door. I was furious, but after his comment that the surf was great and that he didn’t do things like that very often I settled down and together we bustled into the car to get food for dinner.

We had a lovely dinner with my parents, and afterwards we went out for a walk and to get ice cream for desert. Strolling around with a huge ice cream each we started chatting and the boys (Emmanuel and my father) slowly fell behind. Mum and I decided to return to the apartment after a while, and by about 11pm I decided to got to bed as Emmanuel and dad had still not returned and I had know idea where they where or how long they would be.

A little after midnight Emmanuel woke my up and announced that he wanted to show me something. Bleary eyed I stumbled out of bed and was quickly told to close my eyes. He led me outside and onto the beach. As I was being lead bear foot though the sand on a beautifully warm summers night I wondered what was happening. When Emmanuel stopped he asked me to open my eyes and in front of me was 700 long steamed red roses in a giant heart with the words “Marry Me” inside. All this was done using the rose heads with the steams stuck in the sand. Emmanuel himself got down on one knee and asked me to marry him, which I of course accepted with tears in my eyes. The beach was softly lit by moonlight and you could make out the roses perfectly. Together we sat, Emmanuel with his arms around me on the deserted beach, completely surrounded by red roses. Under the stars, the waves gently lapped the shore and like that we sipped on Champagne until dawn broke.

There is nothing that could possibly make that night more special – And thank you to Erin and Abazias for the amazing diamond.

The reason why I told you the long story is that Emmanuel didn’t actually go surfing that day, he was driving 100 miles to pick up the 700 roses he had ordered. No wonder he was a little late getting back!!!

I have attached a few photos of the amazing night - please have a look. The night was just perfect and full of stars, you really could not dream of a more romantic proposal, I’m so lucky

Kindest Regards

Malia Chappel