ANNIE, WILL YOU MARRY ME?

 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! ♥