True love is not dying for someone... It's living for them. I found true love. Annie
Raczko is the love of my life. She's a special girl, so I decided to make her "golden
birthday" very special by giving her the most special gift a man can give a woman:
forever.
Most people don't know what a "golden birthday" is, and I sure as hell didn't. Mine
would have been when I turned 5. A birthday on which the day matches the age
that you are turning amounts to nothing more than any other birthday to most
people. Then again, Annie Raczko is not most people. Annie is special. She turned
27 on June 27, 2013, so we took the bus in to New York City for a special day of
birthday fun. We went to Azalea's Restaurant, a fancy restaurant in Manhattan.
Following that, we walked around and took some beautiful pics of the city; places
at which we had visited and made memories. Then, we went down to the Empire
State Building. She didn't know what she was in for and the gift awaiting her. In
almost 2 years of dating, our parents had never met. However, today was not any
other day. Today was a special day. Once I told my parents and her parents,
nothing was going to keep them from being apart of this moment. Our parents
were waiting patiently on the 86th floor of the Empire State Building, along with
my brother (Matt) and sister-in-law (Maureen), to greet us upon arrival. We took
the elevator up and then bravely decided to walk the remaining 6 floors between
80-86. We arrived on the 86th floor and quickly texted the rents to let them know
that the time had arrived. We walked out the doors to the outside deck of the
observatory. Man, it was a sight to be seen! The city skyline was beautiful from the
top of the Empire State Building. As we came down the ramp, she was baffled and
speechless (she's never speechless) to see our two families standing there, waiting
for us, as per the norm. We walked over to them, said hellos, and she was
showered with happy birthdays. Little did she know, she was in for a bigger
surprise, because the best part was yet to come. I gave her a birthday card, which I
had concealed from her all day. She opened it promptly and began to read it. As
she did, I got the ring out of my camera bag. It looked as though I was just getting
my camera out to capture some great moments of our families meeting for the
first time. I like to take pictures! However, this time, others could take pictures,
because I had a greater task. I only needed to capture this moment in my mind for
it to last forever. She finished reading the card, which read, "YOU ROCK MY
WORLD! HAPPY BIRTHDAY! I LOVE YOU! ANNIE, WILL YOU MARRY ME? LOVE,
FRANK". Her eyes teared up and then fell upon me as I rested down upon one knee
with a shiny ring exposed in a little black box. Her smile could light the darkest
night. I proposed. She said, "YES!" Now, we are engaged! The rest is history, and
the best is yet to come!
I'd like to send out a special thank you to our parents and siblings for helping to
make it a super special night, and for supporting our NJ road trip relationship
every mile-marker of the way! True love united a girl from North Jersey and a boy
from South Jersey, and we are so thankful to Dylan and Lisa Warner for inviting us
to share in their wedding day, because otherwise we would have never found each
other. We met and had our first dance at a wedding... How cool is that?!
Annie Raczko, you are the love of my life. You are my one true love. From here to
eternity, we will walk hand in hand, as one. Two people living with one purpose.
Two hearts beating with one love. You light up my life and I will follow you into the
dark.
I LOVE YOU, ANNIE RACZKO! A & F! ♥
