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PICKUP PROPOSAL©

Believe it or not, I met my husband while driving to work one morning. He was in a big white pickup truck in the lane beside me and we both happened to look over at each other at the same moment. Wow! He was the most handsome man I'd seen in a long time, and apparently he thought I looked pretty good too because after a few miles of flirting he gestured for me to follow him into the parking lot of my favorite local bagel shop -- and I did.

Dan and I started dating that very night and were "a couple" from that point on.

When Dan & I had been seeing each other for a little over a year, I was beginning to feel like we needed to start considering making our arrangement permanent, but I didn't want to be the one to bring it up. It's a lot more fun to be proposed to than to suggest to the man in your life that you want to get married . . . so I bit my tongue and waited.

On my way to work one morning I glanced up to see what looked like Dan's pickup truck behind me, and that brought back such a pleasant rush of memories that I almost cried. Dan had sold the truck to his brother a few months earlier.

The truck started passing on my right and I glanced over to take a closer look. Wow! What a handsome man -- there was Dan behind the wheel, flirting just like he had on that first day. We smiled, we waved, and finally, instead of gesturing for me to pull over this time, Dan held up a glittering diamond ring and mouthed "Will you marry me?"

This time I gestured for him to pull over so I could feel his arms around me when I told him "yes, I will marry you!"

A ROLL OF THE DICE©

Birthdays at our house were always very special -- my father made sure of it. He always had some crazy game he had dreamed up for us to play as we "searched" for our gift.

To celebrate my mother's birthday one year my father assembled us all in the family room. He produced a one-foot square pillow (dice) and about twenty cards which he spread in a meandering line on the floor, each card about 18 inches from the next, similar to a pathway in which one might move their "piece" on a game board.

The object . . . roll the dice, pace off the appropriate number, reach down and pick up a card, read aloud what it said, and then follow the directions to the best of your ability. Mom rolled the dice for a four, paced off four cards on the floor, picked up the fourth card which read: "Tennis anyone? Receive one dollar for every time you are able to bounce a ball up in the air off a tennis racket . . . sitting down."

Ever tried to bounce a ball on a tennis racket while sitting down? Practically impossible but great fun to watch! Mom earned about three dollars on that one.

She continued to roll the dice, step off the cards, pick them up, read them and even made a few dollars. Some of the tasks were extremely inventive: "Call the dog. If she comes on the first call, win $10; the second call, win $5; the third call $.50. How many glasses is the dishwasher designed to accommodate?; how many steps on the stairway to the second floor?; how many shoe boxes in your closet?" Money was rewarded on a sliding scale based on how close Mom was to the correct number.

When Mom got to the last card it read: "Go to your room!" We all looked at each other and then raced up to the master bedroom. Upon entering we saw the glow of two candles, a beautiful red rose on my mother's pillow, and next to the rose a box containing a pair of beautiful emerald earrings.

My father took my mother's hand and said, "Honey, you are the greatest treasure in my life. I rolled the dice thirteen years ago and I've been a winner ever since. Happy Birthday."