On Saturday, April 1, I proposed to my girlfriend of roughly seven-and-a-half years, Morgan, at Preparation Canyon in the Loess Hills.
We’ve been together so long, her saying “yes” was merely a formality at this point, but it was still a very special moment to experience.
We started dating as sophomores at Mason City High School when we were 15 years old. We were each other’s date for homecoming three times and prom twice. From there we both attended North Iowa Area Community College for two years and got our associate’s degrees before transferring to Iowa State University and earning our bachelor’s last year.
I still had an internship to complete for my degree over the course of last summer, and Morgan got a job in Omaha that she started in June. We lived apart from one another as I worked for 10 weeks at my hometown newspaper, the Globe Gazette, as a sports intern. I found the time to come down to Omaha for a couple visits over the course of those 10 weeks, but much of my time was spent caught up in the grind of a daily newspaper.
As I was looking for full-time jobs throughout the summer, I stumbled upon a position with Enterprise Media Group in Blair, a town I had never heard of. I had an interview in mid-August, and by late August I showed up in Blair for my first day.
I’m very fortunate that somehow, someway, things just worked out for Morgan and myself. We’re happy with where we live, happy with where we work, and most importantly, happy that we’ve managed to stay together after all this time. It’s something I thank my lucky stars for every day.
Morgan is the best person I know, not only because of the way she puts up with all my crap, but because of the way she treats others. I’m excited to spend the rest of my life with her – that is, if we don’t break off our engagement due to the stress of planning a wedding.
But we’ve made it this far! I’m confident there’s plenty of sand left in that hourglass.
