A Decade in Retrospective: 2001

2001 changed everything.

During this time my relationship with Bryson continued to deepen, and we became practically inseparable. He even took an evening English course with me on Southern women's literature. Yep, that man truly loves me.

In the summer we flew back to Chicago to spend time with my family. We took the train downtown and I showed him a little taste of the city life as we explored together. We took a road trip to Nauvoo with my family and showed him a little taste of the midwestern rural life coupled with a rich experience in Church history. Heading back to Logan, we prepared to start a new semester at Utah State.

Then the events of September 11th occurred.
I can vividly remember my dad calling me as I was in my apartment getting ready for the day, urgently telling me to turn the TV on. Immediately I knew something terrible had happened. I quickly flipped through the channels just in time to see the second plane hit the World Trade Center. That image is still vividly burned in my psyche. We mourned for our nation. We struggled to make sense of a senseless act. Life seemed to stand still for a time.

Eleven days later, Bryson popped the question.
After a restorative day hiking in the mountains and a fantastic dinner at the Coppermill, we headed to the amphitheater on Old Main Hill. Our spot. Perfect for deep conversation, evening picnics, stargazing... or in this case, a most unexpected proposal. Cradled in the shadow of Old Main with the beauty of the Logan Temple and Wellsville Mountains before us, it couldn't have been more perfect.


The outside world may have seemed hostile and uncertain, but together we knew we could make it. We had shelter from the storm around us. We had each other.