13 years ago, about this exact time of day actually I was sitting on my couch, watching the morning news, with my innocent, precious 2 year old baby girl bouncing around the house like perfect toddlers do. Holding my 6 month old son, sucking up every single second of his infancy, like I did. Life then, was as good as it gets. Living the American dream. The kind of American Dream our forefathers defended to the end. Then suddenly it came acrossed the television, the image of a huge plane crashing into the first tower. You could hear, see, FEEL inside you the panic, fear, and chaos instantly as people scrambled to defy death. I watched in horror, as plane number two hit. As people flung themselves out of the top floors of the towers to trying to escape. I watched emergency personnel gather and pack up and go into the buildings everyone else was trampling over others to escape from. Minutes later, the third plane was reported down, and as I watched it all, minute by minute on tv, it felt like an eternity at home. Then the news coverage went back to the towers after the third plane was reported. All that could be seen was thick clouds of smoke, particles of plane, building, glass, this enormous cloud of hell, rolling thru the streets of the city, barreling in on those innocent people trying to help. I watched firemen entering the building, I heard them graphically describing the fate these firemen and police faced, and it wasnt pretty. And then I watched the first building collapse. Bodies flying out of windows 100 stories high, people screaming out in panic looking for friends and family in the fog of poison air that surrounded all of them. I watched people run for their lives, and I watched those brave men and women without reservation lay theirs on the line, in hopes of saving just one more person from that building. Suddenly this American Dream life I lived, with these two innocent lives I chose to bring to this world, vowing to protect and serve for the rest of MY life terrified me. What have I done? What kind of world is this becoming? I had never questioned until 9/11/01, the kind of life my kids would be able to live. Surely they wouldnt have to live in fear of mass tragedy like this their whole life? I felt helpless, sick, and never so unsure of the future of our future american children. Especially my own. I looked at their perfect little faces, and cried and cried. And I watched those brave men and women rush in to help. And knew, even at such a young age, our nation would never be the same after those attacks to the innocent people of our nation. Then the numbers began to roll in, of the deaths, the missing, and the uncounted for. I can never describe the peace that came over me as I watched our men and women in all uniform, against ALL odds, rushing in to help people like me and you. Its called grateful. Thankful. and secure. So yeah, when they say 9/11-never forget. Pretty sure I will NEVER forget, where I was, what I was doing, or the feelings I had, as I held my small children and cried for our nation. Nor will I ever forget the visions of the fallen heroes as they bravely and calmly entered a building to save others, to never see them come back out. My heart still grieves for ALL of the families that were effected directly the day the towers were hit. But I sincerely thank every single family member out there who sacrificed a loved one for people like me to say, even when its at its worst here in America, faith in the humanity of our citizens. Gifting us with comfort in the fact that no matter what crisis we face on our soil, there will be men and women there, rushing into places everyone else is dying to get out of, to help another human. In the worst times ever, sometimes is when the beauty of what our nation stands for shows its face. 9/11, showed me. It isnt only on this day 9/11 that I take a moment to reflect and be grateful and thankful for our homeland protectors. As a matter of fact, I happen to be married to one of the fellers. I am grateful and thankful every. single. day.
Posted on: Thu, 11 Sep 2014 13:59:30 +0000
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