Remember

I will never forget…

I’m on the 405, on my way to work. There’s heavy traffic, as usual; people cut each other off, flip each other the bird. Horns honk. People yell and gesture behind their rolled up windows.

A typical work week commute.

Sighing, I reach down and turn on one of my favorite morning radio programs Jamie, Frosty & Frank. Jamie is this obnoxious chick, and Frosty & Frank are a couple of funny, entertaining dudes. I need a laugh – this drive sucks. I hit the volume button a few times…silence. What the hell? Are you kidding? I have to sit in this crap with nothing to help me get through?

Then…

One of them says something like, “Oh my god. I can’t believe it.”

I frown down at the radio. I’m expecting some sort of prank, but all I hear is background conversation – the three hosts are trying to get confirmation…something has happened. Chills race along my neck. 

Over the next half hour I learn that not one, but two passenger airliners have crashed into the towers at the World Trade Center in New York. We are under attack. Terrorists have threatened my country, my home.

I pull into the parking lot of my work and run inside. We gather around the TV and watch the news. No one turns over the “open” sign in the window of the front office, the phones do not ring. All I can think about is my 18 month old daughter, and what these attacks may mean for her.

I sit in front of the TV with my colleagues and watch as my fellow Americans jump to their deaths rather than endure the agonizing fate blazing around them.

I cry as I realize that children have lost parents, parents have lost children, spouses have lost their soul mates. People have lost not only those nearest and dearest to them, but they have lost their sense of safety and security.

We all have.

We soon learn about the attack on the Pentagon, and the heroics of the passengers on Flight 93. I am at once terrified of what the future holds, and humbled by the determination and selflessness of those aboard that ill-fated plane.

I go home and hold my daughter tight.

Today, my little girl is pretty darn big…11 years old and just starting 6^th grade. I have another little one who is 3 years old and just started preschool. I’m married to an amazing man who I couldn’t imagine not being with me every day of the rest of our lives.

My heart goes out to those who were directly affected by the events of 9/11. While I cannot know the devastation that you went through, I am here, as I have always been, standing beside you, as your friend and fellow American.

It has been ten years since the day our lives changed forever. We have suffered more heartbreak, and celebrated many victories – together. We are united as a Nation and as a People. The world stood with us, then, and grasped our shoulders; giving us support. When we needed them they were there, lending us their strength, and their love and compassion. Since then, they have needed us and we have responded in kind. Whether it’s terrorist threats, or natural disasters, we have united together as one people across the globe.

No matter our differences of opinion, no matter our different beliefs, we are one.

Cuimhnich…Remember.

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I would like to share a few other posts in remembrance:

Tracey Hansen shares her 9/11 story.

Piper Bayard remembers 9/11 and the closure the death of Osama Bin Laden brought.

Bridgette Booth will never forget what her family was doing when the towers fell.

The following video by Velcrow Ripper is a wonderful message about love and global unity:

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