I Bet You Remember Too

 If you are reading this most likely you know the significance and gravity of today's date for the United States. I wasn't sure how'd I feel today. Every year I recognize 9/11 in some capacity. Some years though, if I am being completely honest, I don't do much more than pause and reflect on the significance of the day. I think of those who lost their lives on 9/11, of those who lost their lives because of the medical and/or psychological effects of being on the ground cleaning up after 9/11, of the families and friends who lost loved ones this infamous day. 

Other years, like this one, I take a little bit more time out of my day and spend time talking with my own family about the day, remember where I was when I first heard the news that there was something terribly amiss, and watch tributes online from others honoring this day for the tragedy it was. (Which are so beautiful and sad I end up with tears streaming down my face.)

If you were alive on 09/11/01, and you weren't a small child, I bet you too remember where you were when you learned that a plane had crashed into one of the Twin Towers, and all of the subsequent carnage to follow.

 I had just come home from working a third shift job. Andy was about 16 months old. I was pregnant with Joshua, but didn't know it yet. I went to lay down to catch a few hours of sleep before Bobby had to leave for his second shift job when he woke me up and told me to come out and watch the tv with him because something was terribly, terribly wrong. I sat there in horror watching the news coverage of the first plane hitting Tower One and then the second one hitting Tower Two. No one knew at that time if it was a rogue pilot, or hijackers, or a plane malfunction. Once news trickled in that the Pentagon had also been hit and that there was a 4th plane that crashed in Pennsylvania, I think our worst fears were confirmed, and we knew we were under attack by some kind of terrorist.

What sticks out in my mind the most today, after the heartbreak of all of the senseless loss, is how united we were as a country. There were no Republicans or Democrats, no conservatives or liberals, no illegal aliens or legal ones, no rich or poor - we saw beyond all of those limiting things - and just identified ourselves as humans, American humans who were going to lay aside all that separated us and stand as One. Before we picked sides and declared enemies, before battle lines were drawn, we were One. One people. One nation. I will never forget that feeling. The generosity and caring that poured out of all of us to help in any way that we could. The humanity we shared. I haven't felt that unity before or since that tragic day and time. 

That Oneness was special, and I am so glad I got to experience that feeling because it makes me believe that we can tap into that unity any time we choose to. We just have to choose to do so.

I will never forget 9/11. I bet you won't either.

(Image courtesy of cbsnews.com)