Although I’m looking forward to the entire year of 2009, the part that I am most excited about is the end of the year. That may sound really strange to you, but I do have a good reason to be excited about the last couple weeks of 2009. The reason that I am so excited about the end of this year is because I am going to be taking a trip to Italy. Not only is this going to be an amazing place to travel, but one of the best things about my trip is that it is going to last for a full two and a half weeks. I have several friends and family members who have been to Italy before, and they have all told me that the only thing they wished they could change about their trips was spending more time in Italy.

Since I have nearly a year to finish all of my travel arrangements, I haven’t finalized every single one of my plans. However, in addition to getting my plane tickets, I have also made some other reservations, such as getting a car rental for the duration of my time in Italy.

I feel like I owe a lot to my parents. If it wasn’t for my parents, I really don’t think that I would be in the position that I am in today. Although I didn’t always like it when I was younger (in fact, there were times when I downright hated how they treated me), my parents always pushed me to be the best that I could be in everything that I did. As a kid, this can get annoying (because you have so many friends who are just sliding by), but looking back, I am so appreciative of the way that they raised me. I look at a lot of my old friends who just slid by, and the lives that they are living now are nowhere close to the great life I have created for myself.

Because I am so thankful to my parents for helping me accomplish what I have, I decided to get them a really special birthday gift this year. This will probably surprise you, but my parents have their birthdays in the same month. Since their birthdays are so close, the gift I gave them was a trip for both of them to go to Italy for seven days. They haven’t taken their trip yet, but they couldn’t be more excited about getting to go to Italy together.

This may sound a little bit crazy, but I meant exactly what I said in the title of this post. My girlfriend and I are planning on taking a trip to Italy in three and a half months, and I already know that while we are there, I am going to ask her to marry me. Because we are going to be there for a total of ten days, I haven’t finalized my plan for exactly how I am going to propose to her. However, don’t let this make you think that I am not serious about actually proposing to her.

If you are still questioning whether or not I am going to follow through with this plan, I can tell you that I already have an engagement ring to give to her. I’m going to keep this ring with me during the flight to Italy, and I know that by the time we get on the plane to return to the United States, that ring will no longer be with me, but will instead be resting on her finger. This is going to be an amazing experience for both of us, and I can’t wait to make it all come true.