Christmas Proposal: #7 in the 12 Blogs of Christmas



We worked planting and trimming trees together—which was unusual for a young lady. Needing to support her ailing parents, she was a determined lass. Up before it was light and on the work bus by dawn was our routine. She was beautiful despite the dirty coveralls and stocking cap that hid her curls.

It wasn’t easy work by any means, and the crew boss didn’t take to having a woman along. He expected just as much from her and was gruff most of the time.



It was cold and rainy during late autumn. The plastic rain slickers we wore over our coveralls didn’t keep us dry. Miserable way to make a living. But there weren’t many jobs available in these parts during the depression. 

But the weeks rolled by and Margie and I took our lunch break together. I discovered she loved books and would read to her parents every night. My folks were long gone, so my evenings were lonely.



Long story short, I decided that I wasn’t getting any younger and maybe meeting Margie in the middle of the woods was fate. I didn’t have any extra money, but I knew I wanted her to be my wife. 

One day I called in sick and went to her house to visit her folks. I told them I wanted to take care of their daughter, and by extension, help them too. They gave me their permission to ask Margie to be my wife.


So I planned a way to propose. I had my mother’s wedding band and I tied it to a tree that Margie would be trimming soon. I stood close by and watched. 





She noticed the red ribbon and the circle of gold and held it gently in her hand. I came to her side, bent down and asked her to marry me. She said yes, and on Christmas Eve we said our vows.

We had sixty-three more years together, but my best Christmas present came on that first one we shared together.

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