Remembering 9/11 - 15 years

 

I remember the morning of 9/11/2001 like it was yesterday.  I was my Senior year of high school and I was on a field trip downtown with my class when the reports of the first tower being hit were given.  We went back to school and we all waited...waited to hear what was happening.  To make things significantly more terrifying, my father was flying that morning for a business trip.  I do not even remember where he was supposed to be going.  All I remember was getting a phone call in my band class from my mom.  She told me that my dad was ok, and that his flight was directed to Denver, Colorado to land.  Once he got safely to Denver there were no cars to rent so my mom drove the 8 hours from Nebraska to go pick him up and bring him home.  At that time we had no idea about the extent of the attacks and we all wanted to be home together as a family.

 

Years later, when my husband and I were able to take a trip away to New York City we were able to visit the 9/11 Memorial.  It was incredibly powerful to walk in the place of such a terrible event in the history of our country and to really let it sink in the severity of that day, and of this war.  Today and always I hope that we remember all of those who lost their lives on that terrible day.  I pray for their families and for all of the families and people who continue to protect our country today.  As it says at the Memorial "No Day Shall Erase You from the Memory of Time" - Virgil

 

 

As our children are growing up and very interested in history, especially war history they start asking more and more questions about the attacks of September 11th.  This is the first year that we really started explaining the severity of the events to our 6 1/2 year old.  We read the book The Little Chapel that Stood, which is a "Beautifully illustrated book tells of the historic chapel less than 100 yards from the Twin Towers that miraculously survived on 9-11. Firemen hung their shoes on the fence and raced to help the people in the towers: Oh what gallant men did we lose/Who never came back to get their shoes. The story of terror overcome by courage and bravery that teaches us no one is too small to make a difference."

 

We also read September 11th, 2001 and America is Under Attack:  The Day the Towers Fell.  These provided a good introduction and place to begin discussions on this important day in history.  As we remember the 15th anniversary of this day may we come together as a country to remember all of the men and women who lost their lives on this terrible day and continue to pray for their families and loved ones.