I Remember

I think most of us can recount the things going on this September day, 10 years ago. Everyone has their 9/11 story, and since today marks the 10th anniversary of that tragic morning, I thought I’d share mine now.

While my story isn’t surprising, shocking or even very interesting or unique, it is a day that I will never forget…

Ten years ago, Zoe was in the 2nd grade and Landon was a newborn. Landon and I were just back in the house after walking Zoe to the bus. He was asleep in his swing and I was cleaning up the morning dishes as I always do. The phone rang and at that time in the morning it was unusual…and even more unusual that the phone call would be from Tony. Tony asked me if I was watching TV and when I said no, he told me I’d better get downstairs and turn it on. He said something about one of the towers being hit in New York, but none of it was really making any sense to me, so I ran down and turned the TV on.

I couldn’t believe what I was seeing and hearing. As I was watching the coverage of the first tower, I watched the second tower being struck. It almost didn’t seem possible or real, but there it was on national television. I could see people running through the streets and others jumping from the buildings. There was talk about there being more strikes in the DC area, and at that point Tony got off the phone so that he could try to get home. I ran upstairs and grabbed Landon and then rushed to Zoe’s elementary school to get her. There were many other parents there picking up their children, and it was a bit chaotic at the school, but I was so thankful to finally get Zoe and have her and Landon safe back at home with me. We waited and waited for Tony to get home, and once he finally made it I was able to breathe a sigh of relief. He told me that getting out of DC was crazy and that roads were backed up all over the place; at the time he worked about a mile from the Pentagon and although he was too far to see the actual building, he could see huge plumes of smoke coming from that direction. 

All these years later we still feel the effects of 9/11. It isn’t something I think about every day, but when I go to one of the kids’ schools to get them early and I have to be buzzed in, I remember. Whenever we think of travelling on any kind of mass transit, I remember. I remember all of those lives lost and the deep feeling of sadness that was felt throughout our country. I also remember how it seemed that we came together as a country, and how people seemed to have an overwhelming need to help one another.

Never forget…