As the world remembers 9/11 today, I thought I would reflect back on my memories of that day, too.
Everett and I were up early that morning getting ready to be to work by 8 a.m. Ethan was not quite 2 years old yet. I turned on the news, like I do every single morning, and saw the images of the first tower with smoke billowing out of it. At this point, the news commentators were still speculating as to what had actually happened. Witnesses saw a plane, but it wasn't really clear at this point if it had crashed into the World Trade Center tower on accident or what. Everett and I watched as we got ready that morning and saw as the second tower was struck by another plane. Wow! At that point, it couldn't be coincidence that both towers were hit by planes. What was happening? As we sat there that morning, watching people make their way down the Manhattan streets, even some jumping from the burning buildings knowing full well that they were too high up to survive, we could hardly find words to describe the stunned feelings we were experiencing.
I remember stepping out of the bathroom after drying my hair to check on the status of the news and watched as the first tower began to crumble. "There it goes, there it goes, there it goes!" was all that I remember saying. All through the day I kept close to the news. Joann, the receptionist at the office, kept her radio on all day and the entire mood of the day took on a somber, melancholy feel. I felt bad because my friend, Paula's birthday is September 11th and it should have been a joyous day and here we all were, scared and sad and sick about what was happening 3,000 miles away. News began to come in about the Pentagon and yet another plane that had gone down in a field in Pennsylvania, I believe. Would they attack us out west? Which target was next on their list?
That day is still vivid to me. It is tender and evokes many emotions, both sad ones and also ones of great pride and patriotism in our country and its men and women who are willing to defend our freedoms and those around the world, the brave firemen, the brave individuals on the fourth plane that wouldn't allow it to be used as a weapon and died fighting the hijackers on that Pennsylvania field. I don't think we will ever fully understand what happened or why that day ten years ago, but it has fundamentally changed this country. Will we, as a country, be able to forget what happened on our home soil? Never. Will we be able to move on and overcome? Definately, although we may do so through great tribulation. After all, that is the spirit with which this country was first founded.
