No, I’m not talking about myself (though “Big E” is a nickname that my brother has had for me for years), I’m talking about “engagement” – which happened to Mary and me yesterday.

Here’s how it went down: we went down to the Skagit Valley Tulip Festival in the morning to look at the fields of tulips.

Then we headed back north to Bellingham on Chuckanut Drive. We had brought food for a picnic, so we stopped at the Larrabee State Park parking lot and walked down to the beach. It was an overcast day, so the beach was totally deserted except for us. We set up for the picnic, and after I was done taking the food out of my backpack (I was already on one knee), I asked Mary to be my wife. And she said yes!

We both called several people that afternoon, updated our Facebook statuses (a necessity in this day and age), and went out to eat that night at an Italian restaurant in downtown Bellingham. All in all, a fantastic day.

• Autobiography