This weekend will mark 10 years since our country was changed, security was tightened, and everyone became a little more cautious. I can’t believe it’s been 10 years…I can remember it as if it were yesterday.

Boss Man and I had just been married that year, and he was on his way to attend Big Iron in Fargo. (Big Iron is kinda like the world’s largest craft fair and fashion show for women…except with tractors and grease.) At the time I worked in a government office. I was checking the morning CNN report, but for some reason, the site kept crashing. My co-worker called in from the field and said that the radio was talking about a plane crash.

And then the phones rang. We were informed about the security risks and vague details of what was going on. All employees were offered the chance to go home, if they felt unsafe in a government building. It was chaos. And it was shocking.

I remember leaving work that day (we all stayed the whole day…because we live in rural North Dakota, and figured we were probably off the terrorists radar) and going to my mom and dad’s and watching the news with her. We sat there, in disbelief, and cried. How could you make sense of it?

The next few weeks are a blur…it seemed as if everyone was just going through the motions. We traveled on a delayed honeymoon in November of that year, and I remember being nervous at the airport. And I know I wasn’t the only one.

And here we are, 10 years later. It’s hard to believe that so much time has gone by, and yet the emotions and feeling of helplessness are still so fresh in my mind. My heart aches, just thinking about it.

This weekend is a time of reflection, a time of remembrance and a time of healing. We will continue on, because we are Americans and that’s what we do. We pick ourselves up, brush ourselves off and continue feeding, protecting and healing the world. And so, on Sunday (as I do most days) I will pray for our leaders, pray for our soldiers and pray for our citizens…will you join me?

My country...