Monday, September 11, 2006

September 11th

I am thankful that today has been a normal day for me. I was able to drop the kids off at school and then take a couple hours to do some clothes shopping for them before it was time to pick them up. Pretty mundane. But unlike any other memorial holiday, I can't help thinking about what happened five years ago. It doesn't seem like it's been that long.

Five years ago today, my husband was up with C (who was three months old at the time) at 5:30am and decided to try to relax a little by kicking back in the recliner and catching some news. On FOX news he saw the reports of the first plane that had hit the World Trade Center. No one could understand what had happened. And then broadcasting live before his eyes, he saw the second plane strike the second tower. At this point he woke me and told me to come downstairs. We watched in disbelief as the first tower buckled and fell to the ground. Then the second. And the horror of the other two flights that crashed. He had to go to work that day, and I remember rocking babies all day long, watching the news.... waiting for more bad news. Here in California, I felt pretty far removed from what was happening. And to be honest, I was glad that we lived in a safe, remote place, far enough from any large target city... I had my babies to protect. It was difficult to fathom the scope of the disaster that befell us. I felt an upwelling desire to mourn for the people who lost their lives that day and the only tangible thing I could do for them was to put out our flag. And keep watching the TV. And pray.

1 comment:

Jennefer said...

Sometimes I don't realize how this day affected EVERYONE in the U.S. and tons of people outside. Even though I know it intellectually- I only think about the people in the media or the people I know. It makes me realize what a small world we live in.