this is an old memory.

my friend erin just blogged (on her sweet mommy blog swonderland) about catching someone propose in a driveway as she went past, and it made me think of one of my favorite new york memories.

christmas of my freshman year of college (when i was at nyu and didn’t know what to do with myself), my friend chelsey wanted to go see the tree at rockefeller center. we took the train uptown and looked at the window displays, and gazed at the tree and went to watch the ice skaters. while we were standing there, a couple came up to us. “can you take our picture?” the man asked, and we agreed, and the woman went to stand against the railing as he showed us how to use the film camera. before joining her, he leaned in and whispered “and can you take a lot? i’m going to propose.” we squealed as quietly as possible, and instructed them to say cheese. “take another!” the woman shouted. “just in case!” and i happily snapped away as the man pulled out a blue tiffany’s box and got down on a knee.

i still think of them sometimes. i was so thrilled to take those photos that i hope they showed off and maybe occasionally still look at. it felt so magical, being asked to help someone propose to the person they love, in rockefeller center with the skaters and the windows and the tree. there is something so sweet about love in the city.