We Will Remember...

Early morning, September 11, 2001 - Suburban Chicago-land area. Getting my household ready for the day, I had a job interview I was preparing for as we had the television on as background. "The Today Show" rambled on with Katie and Matt chatting about some feature or what have you. As I waited for the bathroom to be free I sat down on my sofa with my coffee and sort of zoned out...until...  without warning they broke their drone and suddenly snapped to attention. A report of a rogue plan crashing into the first tower was mentioned just before they cut live.  As they speculated on how this could have happened, my mind though: pilot error. Then as we watched, a second plane headed and crashed into the second tower. My heart skipped as I wondered what was going on with Air Traffic Control.
As the new anchors prattled on the report of yet a third plane crashing into the Pentagon made news and my heart sank. At that very moment I knew. We were under attack and they were using our own planes to do it.
When the report of the fourth plane going down in the field in Pennsylvania broke, I was already on the phone with my mother trying to find any news about my Uncle. I knew he commuted from New Jersey to NYC as he was working for The Wall Street Journal at the time. I vaguely remembered he would hold seminars at the WTC. 
He was never found. 
On that day I turned my American Flag upside down for a week. My neighbors flew theirs with pride in a desperate plea to muster patriotism. My heart was filled with sorrow and worry. Not just for my Aunt and family but for the thousands of other lives this one even impacted, irreversibly.

It's a day that not only affected New York or even the East Coast, but it affected the entire world. In one horrific attack our world changed forever.

I've never been able to find any appropriate way to remember that day without reliving that same progression of emotions. Shock, disbelief, worry, anger, sorrow.

I know I'm not alone in how I feel or how my world was forever changed. I know it had a lasting effected on my then 12yr old son and how he viewed his world. He had nightmares for years, randomly but regularly. He would find himself glancing at clocks and seeing 8:46 or 9:11 - not that he was seeing things but rather it was at those times of day he'd find himself checking the time. This went on for years. (8:46 being the time the first plane crashed and 9:11 is self-explanatory)

With the death of Osama bin Laden earlier this year I can only hope that we've begun the healing process.

To all those affected and effected by the tragedies that occurred that day, my deepest condolences and hope for a brighter future.

[Worn: Jewelery Set: "Patriotica" by: Artistry. - This set contains an image of the WTC Memorial at night]


Thank you and God Bless America (and the world)