My partner (37M) and I (28F) have been together for 7 and a half years now, living together for 6 years. We knew very early on that we wanted to get married and have kids, but any discussion that came up about it was with the caveat of "but we can't afford it yet..."
Things started shifting back in January. I'd first discovered Jamie Wolfer's channel and immediately became obsessed, so conversations started from there. My partner then asked me what kind of ring I would like so I made a Pinterest board and shared it with him, not expecting anything anytime soon.
Then my birthday came. My birthday is in early June and the school I work at has a week's half term holiday on the last week of May, so my birthday often falls during that time. I made a load of plans with different people, and then halfway through the week my partner told me he was disappointed because he'd wanted to surprise me by going away somewhere but wasn't able to because of those plans. We then agreed to keep a week in August clear for a second attempt.
August comes around and my partner had arranged a beautiful staycation, but also told me that we had to come back two days early because he'd gotten me a gift for that trip but the postage had been delayed. When I suggested asking our neighbour to take the parcel for us (a lovely guy who's helped us out on several occasions), my partner shut the idea down immediately because it was "just way too important." I still assumed it was a belated birthday present, but my curiosity was piqued!
We had a lovely time away and the postage was delayed yet again, so cue the panic of having someone home for the delivery! The package finally arrives while my partner's home at the end of August. A few days later, I asked when I'd be receiving the gift and he just said "soon..."
Any mention of "The Gift (TM)" has been met with similar vagueness and a biggest grin since that day, so it's 100% not a birthday gift! That, plus the delayed shipping, his insistence on making this thing special and him recently telling me that this item was custom made... I'm trying not to get my hopes up too high just in case (and honestly, I welcome any other potential explanations) but I just cannot see it being anything other than a ring! It's the only option that makes sense at this stage but I don't know if I've just become so attached to the idea that I cannot see reason anymore? I've been resisting telling others about my suspicions because I don't want to get people's hopes up/make him look bad if it's not a ring, but it also means I'm bottling up the excitement and I feel like a cola bottle that's been shaken by a hyperactive toddler!
Oh, and the other day I casually mentioned some wedding stuff I'd seen and he said "that's cool. Maybe not for 2027 but maybe 2028?" That's the first time either of us have mentioned a potential date!!
Anyways, my partner has said that he's arranging something for this Saturday. Again, he's keeping his cards close to his chest, but has told me that he intends to give me "The Gift (TM)" on that day. Here's hoping I can remain sane over the next few days!