Dear Annie: My husband and I are the parents of an 18-year-old son who is a kind, thoughtful and deeply romantic young man. He has been dating the same girl since junior year of high school, and like many first loves, theirs feels very big, very serious and, to them, very certain.

The problem is this: We recently discovered that our son is planning to propose to his girlfriend this summer, just before they both leave for college. Yes, propose. He has apparently been saving money for a ring, talking to a few close friends about how he wants to do it and imagining some grand declaration of forever before either of them has even stepped foot on a college campus.