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When we requested our readers to inform us what they were grateful for in six phrases, we had been anticipating to see sure themes.
Health, religion, love, household, marriage. Check.
Pets, grandparents, drugs, science, sunshine. Check.
Some folks had been grateful for President-elect Joseph R. Biden Jr. Others for President Trump. Some had been grateful for Thanksgiving meals; others had been grateful for supply folks.
The creator Larry Smith popularized the six-word memoir throughout Thanksgiving one 12 months, a twist on a problem that anyone may or may not have issued to Ernest Hemingway.
This Thanksgiving, we — workers members of The Morning, The New York Times’s day by day publication — invited our readers to do a model of the train. We wished to share the thrill and gratitude that managed to poke by way of a 12 months dominated by struggling.
And you, our readers, delivered.
Together, our group sifted by way of greater than 10,000 submissions — many humorous, some unhappy, all heartfelt. Then, we discovered one of the crucial consequential and life-changing questions anybody can ask.
There it was, neatly packed into six phrases: “Will you marry me, Taylor Hollenkamp?”
After a flurry of pleasure, we reached out to test if it was actual — and if Lauren Few, who submitted the proposal, really wished to get engaged in The New York Times. Absolutely, she stated.
Ms. Few, 35, had recognized inside weeks of beginning their relationship that she had discovered her particular person.
“When we were first getting serious, Lauren said: ‘I would marry you now, but for everyone else’s sake, we should wait at least a year before we get engaged,’” Ms. Hollenkamp, 35, stated. “We made it 11 months.”
When Ms. Few noticed the six-word problem, she stated, she nearly felt it was an indication. Her father, Harry Few, who died in 2014, cherished Hemingway. Ms. Few stated this felt like the proper approach to honor his
reminiscence.
As we waited to be taught the result of the proposal, subscribers drummed their collective fingers on Twitter.
“WAIT will someone tell me if the proposal in @nytimes briefing was accepted?! Taylor Hollenkamp, what did you say?!” one person wrote. “Who is #TaylorHollenkamp?” another demanded. “Did you say yes? We need to know!!!”
Well earlier than Thanksgiving, Ms. Few had spoken to Ms. Hollenkamp’s members of the family, who gave their blessing. She had cleared the ring with two of Ms. Hollenkamp’s closest buddies.
Unable to sleep, Ms. Few wakened at 5:30 a.m. on Thanksgiving. She grabbed the engagement ring, a lavender sapphire, and Ms. Hollenkamp’s telephone, in case an excited buddy known as with ill-timed congratulations. She crept out of their San Diego dwelling, leaving Ms. Hollenkamp to sleep, blissfully unaware of what was about to occur.
Ms. Few picked up a newspaper at her native espresso store, buzzing with nerves.
She had initially deliberate to suggest over dinner, however The Morning publishes in, effectively, the morning. With household throughout the nation — to not point out the Twitter storm that will quickly observe — she couldn’t precisely wait.
After she returned with pumpkin spice lattes, it was time to trade their six phrases of gratitude. (Ms. Few had challenged Ms. Hollenkamp to give you her personal, as a setup.)
Still unaware, Ms. Hollenkamp went first. “My life has never been happier,” she stated.
Then, Ms. Few handed her the newspaper — the print version additionally revealed the gathering —and opened it to the story.
Ms. Hollenkamp stated she learn it 5 instances as a result of she couldn’t consider it was actual. “I was like, ‘Wait, I’m Taylor Hollenkamp,’” she stated.
“I started bawling and then Lauren asked me herself,” she added. “She put the ring on my finger. I was sobbing and pretty much scream-cried.”
The couple plan to get married in June, then go on a honeymoon in Costa Rica. (They’ve already booked their tickets.) But first, Ms. Hollenkamp stated she deliberate to suggest proper again. “Lesbian perks,” she stated, laughing. “You get two engagements.”
P.S. We can’t promise marriage proposals day-after-day, however what we are able to promise is the most recent information. If you need to obtain The Morning in your inbox, sign up here.
