Fairy Tales

Taken on Temple Square the day Ryan got home.

My friend recently wrote a sweet Valentine's Day post (found here) about real-life "you had me" moments. You know, as in "You had me at hello," but a little less Tom Cruise and a little more real life.

It made me think of Ryan, of the year we spent dating. I pinpointed a few "you had me" moments, but perhaps none so poignant as this:

For most of the time we were dating, Ryan and I were in different states. I was interning in Utah and Ryan spent most of September touring the better part of the United States. This extended separation gave me time to think, and I started to think I might want to keep him around.

One day I was driving back to the office from my lunch break and this song from Ryan Shupe and the Rubberband came on. Oh how I miss you, wish I could kiss you, hug you, hold you, it would be bliss to. The song melted away some of my inhibitions and made me realize I really did miss him. I wanted him there with me. I wondered if this could be real. And then came the clincher: I'm not a fool, but I believe fairy tales happen sometimes.


This was my fairy tale. I was living it. And in that moment, I knew it.

I couldn't help myself—I burst into tears right there at the traffic light on State and 8th North in Orem. I was alone in my car, listening to that song, thinking about Ryan and bawling my eyes out.

The day his tour bus pulled into Salt Lake City a few weeks later, I took a half day off work and drove to the Joseph Smith Memorial Building where his tour ended. When I walked in the lobby and saw him across the room, I ran into his arms. It was unadulterated slow-motion, full-on running, arms held out, hugging my heart out cheesiness. The other students on the tour smiled like they knew who I was, but I don't remember much about them. I just remember realizing, finally—here is my fairy tale.