9-11-01

I will never forget the morning of September 11th, 2001. I was in my dorm room at UMHB, and my suite mate woke me up to watch the news.I was so shocked! That's not really how I was feeling, but there is no other word to describe it. AWE, maybe. Numbing, I felt numb. I was glued to the TV all day. Our campus was shut down so that students could get to their families. My family happened to be 6 hrs away, so going home to my mom wasn't really an option for me. God knows I wanted too. I was so scared. There were rumors that terrorist planned to bomb Ft. Hood since it was the largest miltary base in the country. ( Ft. Hood was very close to where I was-- maybe 15 miles, I'm not sure.) I remember we were told not to use our cell phones because they were trying to intercept messages... or something, I don't know, I just know that I hadn't been able to call my mom. It created a very desperate feeling in me.

I sat infront of the telivision for hours, trying to wrap my mind aroud the devestation of what occurred. I wanted information! I needed to know what was going on. I remember feeling like it was so personal. Like I, personally, had been attacked.

I now understand that I was. All of America was touched personally by this attack on our country. My sense of safety was damaged forever in a matter of minutes. The world will never be the same. This day affected my future forever.

The afternoon of September 11th, 2001, I met the man who would eventually be my husband.

Our campus was shut down and we had to leave the dorms. My roomate and I had nowhere to go, since home was so far away for us. So, we went to her boyfriend's house. This is where I met Joey. He was the roommate to my roommate's boyfriend.

I will never forget seeing him for the first time. I was infatuated immediately! I thought he had the most gorgeous blue eyes. He melted my heart when he let me call my mom (long distance) from his land line. I was in love right then! While on the phone with my mom, I told her that I was going to marry this guy!! I was serious!

We started dating that day and got engaged one year later. We were engaged for 3 and a half years and were married.

Now, seven years after the day we met, the day is bittersweet for us. We pray for those devestated families of the people we lost that day, but at the same time, we try to remember the day for the blessings it brought to my husband and I.We are so blessed to have one another and such a wonderful life! And because of 9-11, we have a precious little girl that we can't imagine ever living without.