Never Forget

Last year Dara brought home an A-Z reader about Heroes. The "book" included vivid (even in black and white) images of firemen carrying people covered in dust down stairwells and the Twin Towers engulfed in smoke. As I looked through the book I was overwhelmed by the images and immediately decided that I would request that her teacher send home a different book for homework. The next day, there was a new book in Dara's backpack and that was that.

Did I make a mistake? Was I being over protective? Would it have been OK for my 7 year old 1st grader to  view these images and read about 9/11? I was reflecting on that this morning as I turned on the radio for the 9/11 moment of silence...just as I have every year since that awful day. I listened to the first set of names as I was driving onto the base this morning, tearful for those families and for America on that day, I reflected on how just a single moment or event can change everything that you think you might know.

I remember where I was...sitting at my desk in Ballston, Virginia. Someone came into my office and said the towers had been hit. I instantly tried to figure out what was happening but my internet was down...phone lines were jammed. Since we had no TV several of us walked down to the lobby to watch the coverage on a small black and white TV that sat in the corner of the Dry Cleaners on the first floor. We all watched, speechless, in disbelief. I checked my voicemail, there was a frantic message from my mom. She was in NY (Long Island) and was trying to see if I was OK. The Pentagon had been hit by a plane. My office was only 2 miles away...but she didn't know that for sure. I shouldn't have really even been at work that day. My grandmother had passed away just 2 days before...but I had put my bereavement leave on hold. Instead, there I was, staring in amazement, overwhelmed, and in shock.

I want my children to understand what happened that day, the impact that it had on their lives before they were even born. I want them to understand that there are people in this world that don't like us...just because we are Americans but to be proud of our country and be the best people and Americans that they can be. When will I feel like it is OK to share the events of that day with them? I don't know. Because in that same breath I want to protect them from the tragedy and the fact that there are people in this world who are just bad through and through.

Life can change in a minute. Days like September 11 remind us of that. They remind us that life is precious, that America is Beautiful and that there are many people that have and will continue to sacrifice for the truths and freedoms that we hold dear as Americans.

And even though I am not ready to share...I will never forget.