It was the winter of 2004. December 19, to be exact. I was 18, just graduated high school the year before, and was still smitten with my high school sweetheart. Between being in love and Christmas right around the corner, I was probably bouncing off the walls with excitement like a crazy lady! Seriously, I loved my man and boy do I love Christmastime! Little did I know what was about to happen.

It was a Sunday. Usually Sunday nights, we stayed in. Mom made our Sunday tradition of nachos and cheese. Melted sharp cheese on nachos. We didn’t play around. We would all pile in the living room and watch AFV. Chris, my boyfriend, usually joined us. He never passed up a pile of cheese on a tower of salty nachos. I’m pretty sure they sealed the deal on our relationship. *Insert cheesy smile here* (See what I did there?)

But, that Sunday was different. My mom was acting different, too. What’s the word I’m looking for here — um, I guess I could say, giddy? Chris asked if I would go out to dinner that night to the Olive Garden. It was kind of weird for us to go out on a Sunday night, but I will never say no to the OG! He was picking me up around five, and I was told to dress warmly.

As I was in my room getting ready, I heard his car downshifting, pulling in our driveway. He had this sexy little Subaru Impreza that I just loved. I think that was the deal-breaker for me, just like the nachos were for him. Haha. I ran down the steps to my mom and dad meeting me. Mom said, “Now have a good time, honey! You gonna be warm enough?” She had on such a smile as she said it. I gave Mom and Dad each hug and kiss, dad told us to drive safely, and on our way we went.

At the Olive Garden, we sat in a booth, and both ordered our favorite, Chicken Alfredo. When our supper came, Chris wasn’t eating much. This was odd. He never “not ate.” OK, this is getting strange. Mom giddy and boyfriend not eating? That didn’t stop me from tearing into that delicious plate of goodness. After dinner, he said, “Why don’t we go over to Southside and check out the Christmas lights?” Like whoa. Him volunteering to drive me around and looking at what is my most favorite thing at Christmas! The lights! That didn’t happen much unless we were going from point A to B. “Uhhh, you don’t have to tell me twice! Let’s do it!” He made a pit stop to the Dunkin Donuts drive-thru for hot chocolate because he thought it would be a nice touch to looking at the lights. Man, was he thinking of everything! We drove up and down almost every street until we ended up on Summer Street. Now, if y’all aren’t familiar with Summer Street, we need to have a little chat. It’s only the best street on the face of the earth at Christmas! My happy place. Candy Cane Lane! The road I could drive up and down 467 times a night and never want to stop. I LOVE it!!

Now, let me just put this out there, it was a measly 7 degrees out. Like, I am talking bitterly cold. He pulls the car over at the bottom of Summer Street, looks at me and says, “Would you like to walk up Candy Cane Lane?” I think I just looked at him with this dumb look on my face. My mind saying, “Do you know how cold it is out there? Are you crazy?”

“I mean, yeah, I guess! You never want to walk up when it’s 50 degrees. But yea, let’s do this on a bitterly cold night and freeze our faces off,” I said. I guess this is why he told me to dress nice and warm. Even though it was cold, it was still picture perfect! The hot chocolate kept our one hand warm, as our other hands were holding each other. We got about halfway up, and he started acting not himself. Like he had ants in his pants or something. We continued up to the top where Minnie, Mickey, Goofy, Santa, Mrs. Claus, and the Live Manger Scene were all there to greet us!

“I didn’t know they would all be here tonight?! I thought they only did this Friday and Saturday nights?” Chris said. I was excited! This was the greatest even though he didn’t seem thrilled.

Candy Cane Lane was double-sided traffic and not a bare spot to be seen on the road.

Once we reached the top, we started heading back down, and we got right across from my favorite house. Second from the top on the right, all in white lights. He said, “Wait a minute.”

I turned to him, and he asked me to hold his cup. All of the sudden, he got down on one knee and asked me to marry him. I couldn’t believe it! My hot stud muffin was asking me to marry him at my happy place! Of course, I said, “YES!” and all of the sudden, everyone cheered, including Minnie, Mickey, & Goofy! Cars were beeping, and people were yelling out of their car windows “Congratulations!!” I couldn’t believe it! I had to get to the car to see that bad boy! Christmas lights just didn’t give me enough light to see that ring! The dome light went on, and I gasped. What a gorgeous ring! What a magical night! I had to go over to show my Grammy Perry, who lived right on Riverside Drive immediately. I was so excited I couldn’t contain myself. I don’t even remember it being 7 degrees anymore! The night was so perfect.

I will never forget this night as long as I live. My parents knew. His parents knew. He did it on a Sunday so all the extra people wouldn’t be there, but little did he know they would all become part of our story. Every year after that, on December 19, we go out to eat at the Olive Garden, go to Dunkin Donuts to get hot chocolate and walk up Candy Cane Lane just as we did on that magical night. Now, we have a five-year-old little girl and a ten-year-old boy who look forward to this every single year. It’s a tradition we will never give up. This year will be 15 years we have done it. It’s still just as magical. I love that we get to relive that night every year. So this Thursday night, you know where we will be! I am so happy to be able to share this with you all.

If you haven’t ever walked up Candy Cane Lane, you should. It’s amazing taking it all in. Thanks to all of you on Summer Street, who make December so magical and unique for many of us.
And for giving us the perfect setting on a night, we will never forget.

Rice Krispie Ornaments

• 1/4 C. butter + extra for your hands (you’ll need for shaping the Rice Krispy treats into ball)
• 1- 10-oz. package marshmallows
• 6 C. Rice Krispies
• Holiday-colored sugar sprinkles
• Rolo candy
• Toothpicks

Melt butter in a large saucepan. Add marshmallows and stir constantly until well-combined. Add the Rice Krispies cereal. Mix until all of the cereal is coated with the marshmallow mixture.

Butter your hands well, then and shape the cereal into six balls. Make sure they’re packed tightly! Acting quickly, roll the balls in colored sugar or holiday-colored sprinkles until coated!

For the top of the ornament, stick a toothpick into one end of a Rolo candy. The other end of the toothpick long goes into the Rice Krispy ornament.