Valentine's Day was busy, busy, busy! I did a dozen radio interviews from Alaska to New York, and wrote articles for regional magazines in Colorado, Florida, Virginia, and Illinois. I got several nice reviews, including ones from Publishers Weekly, Independent Publisher, AustinWoman, Mountain Connection, and Our Community News. I spoke to a standing-room-only crowd at the Manitou Public Library. Most importantly, Jim and I found time for our own belated Valentine's celebration.
One of the pleasures of being in this business is that I get to hear other people's romantic stories. In this issue of Celebrating Our Lives, I'll share two short tips, one I heard at a book signing and the other on a radio interview.
This month's feature story came to me by way of a friend in New York, Cookie Craft. She put me in touch with Kiva Kolstein who filled in the details. It's about his marriage proposal in Manhattan that even made the doorman smile.
QUOTE OF THE MONTH
"Love is the only thing that keeps me sane." -- Sue Townsend
ROMANTIC TIPS OF THE MONTH
A man told me that every night so far of their 32-year marriage, he and his wife take a bath together. Every night! That's impressive. They buy bubble bath in gallon containers at Costco.
A radio host told me he'd interviewed a woman with a sweet tradition. Every night at 7:00, no matter where they were or what they were doing, they would stop to say "I love you." If one of them was out of town, the other could count on the
phone to ring at the loving hour.
MAZEL TOV!
Plan B was for Kiva to make his move right next to the fire truck if Plan A got out of hand and the apartment went up in smoke. Hoping that wouldn't be necessary, he proceeded with his original scheme.
On the afternoon of April 14, 2005 outside Kiva's Manhattan office, his brother Zack double-parked. Kiva rushed out of the building lugging an awkward load: twenty-five candles, one-hundred assorted photographs, and a huge box containing the petals of thirty-seven dozen roses. After being given explicit instructions, Zack hurried to his destination with Kiva's parcels in his trunk.
Meanwhile, Nikki made her way to the Manhattan Ocean Club, supposedly to meet Kiva and his friends for dinner. She was neither suspicious nor disappointed when he arrived alone. Since meeting a year earlier on JDate, a Jewish singles web
site, they cherished every private moment. She was happy to have dinner alone with him.
Nikki chatted about work and life, but Kiva was preoccupied. He was thinking about events to follow, wondering if Zack completed his task, hoping Plan B could be avoided.
After dinner, they raced home in a cab, ostensibly to catch the beginning of the Yankee's game. Kiva was relieved to see Plan A had worked. There were no fire trucks in the street and no flames darting out the windows of their apartment.
When they walked into the building, the doorman winked at Kiva and pressed the elevator call button. Inside the elevator, Kiva's anxiety mounted. His heart pounded. They were just seconds away from the experience that would change their lives forever. The six-floor ride seemed as long as a trans-Atlantic flight.
At the doorway to their apartment, he dug for his keys. His hands were sweating, making it difficult to get the key chain out of his pocket. With shaking hands, he unlocked the door.
From the hallway Nikki was startled by the glow from the dozens of candles Zack had lit forty-five minutes earlier. She shouted, "Oh my God! Who's here? What happened? What's going on?" She looked around the room, still with no idea of what was happening. Rose petals blanketed the room. After a few seconds, she noticed pictures of them as children and teenagers and recent shots of them together spread around the apartment.
Kiva led her to the couch. They sat down and he said the words he'd been practicing all night. Nikki's face registered shock as he slipped off the couch and down on one knee.
"Will you marry me?" he asked.
Her response was an immediate "Yes!"
In his rush of emotions, he'd forgotten to take the ring out of his pocket. He wasn't quite as smooth as he hoped, but it only took a second to retrieve the ring and get back on track. When he slid the ring on her finger, he was relieved that it was a perfect fit. They hugged and cried and laughed, rolling around on the floor amidst the rose petals.
Kiva asked her if she would like to toast their engagement at the neighborhood restaurant where he had initially planned to propose. She agreed. They went out the door, down the elevator, and past the grinning doorman, who high-fived Kiva.
At the restaurant, Nikki was surprised to find both of their families waiting for them. They spent the next hour telling and retelling the story. She relived the excitement of the engagement as friends stopped by to toast their good news.
The next day they left for a weekend trip to Lake Placid.
When they returned home, Kiva presented Nikki with a 150-page collection of emails from family and friends. During the two months he'd been setting up this engagement, there had been a flurry of email discussing the plan, and all the reasons Nikki and Kiva were a perfect match. She cried again upon receiving it, then spent the next few weeks reading all of them over and over again.
SPEAKING SCHEDULE
Tuesday, April 11
Denver Jaycees (Junior Chamber of Commerce)
Sunday, September 10
General Merchandise Distributors Council
Health & Beauty Care Marketing Conference
Dallas, Texas
Spouses Program
CLASS SCHEDULE
I'll be teaching THE ART OF THE SPARK classes at Colorado Free University in April. Join us! It's fun. This is the last one on the schedule. The 5-hour class is $54 for one person and $94 for couples. The CFU member price is $49 for one person and $89 for couples. To register, call CFU at 303) 399-0093. Here's the course number and schedule:
* 4506AD Thursday, April 13 and 20, 6:30 to 9:00
UNTIL NEXT TIME
If you enjoyed this free e-zine, please forward it to friends.
I care about people and how they celebrate. If you have any stories you'd like to share with others, please send them to me at mary@adventuresoftheheart.com. We can all learn from each other.
Wishing you a life of adventure,
Mary Zalmanek
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