Tidbit Tuesday is a forum where I can talk about the things I'm hearing and seeing out in the real world.
Opening night of the Evo Conference there were a number of speakers sharing their personal stories to inspire the audience. The last speaker was a gentleman I'll call Mike. Mike started talking about a woman I'll call Kim, initially I thought she was his wife. Slides were flashing on the big screen of Kim in her role as a mother, business owner. Mike was talking about how much he respected her and his learning curve in becoming a supportive partner to Kim. As the speech progressed I gleamed from his phrasing that Mike and Kim were not married.
Without warning, a slide popped up on the big screen: "Will you marry me?" Simultaneously, Mike said something along the lines what do you when you love a woman this wonderful - "Ask her to marry you!" Kim was down in the audience, he on stage. Silence from her! Mike walked down to Kim's table, knelt down on one knee and asked her to marry him again. Silence from Kim.
Mike asked her to join him on stage - again getting down on one knee asking her hand in marriage. This time he pulls out the ring! Long pause, Kim finally answers "Yes." Mike places the ring on her finger. Loud claps and cheers from the audience.
Kim's is a divorced Mom with kids. When Mike asked her to marry him - I can only imagine everything that must have of been racing through her mind. I later found out that Mike has children of his own and had asked Kim's children in person for permission to marry their Mom. They had given it, but Kim didn't know that standing up on stage in front of 350 people. Never mind the thousands of people watching the live stream over the internet including her kids, family and friends.
Wow! Talk about the pressure! No surprise there was silence coming from Kim. I don't know if they had ever talked seriously about marriage - blending families - if the kids get along - if the kids get along with their perspective Step-Parent. Regardless, a marriage proposal the second time around isn't just a marriage proposal especially when both of you have children. You're asking someone to blend two families, become a Step-Mom to your kids. Both extremely daunting challenges.
Kim's silence was probably a good sign that she wasn't taking the enormity of the situation lightly. I don't know if I had been the one standing on the stage if I would have even responded with anything other than silence. When my Hubby asked me to marry him in a secluded setting, I responded with "but, you don't want to get married again?" Would I have stopped myself from asking what I needed to and hearing his answer before I did say yes, had it been in that same setting as Kim? Absolutely!
If a marriage proposal = marriage, a blended family, becoming a step- parent. Would you be silenced or jumping for joy in front of hundreds of people?
Let me know what you think.