Remembering 9/11

Do you remember where you were 10 years ago????  On this day????

I can't remember what I did last week, or even everything I did yesterday, but the events that transpired on September 11, 2001, will forever be etched in my mind.  I couldn't forget it even if I tried, which I don't want to, I want to remember, I want to NEVER forget what happened on that fateful day.

Jasmine was 2 years old and I remember I had the TV on in the living room.  My hubby was working the night shift and he had just been home and in bed for about 2 hours when the first airplane hit.

I remember playing with Jasmine on the floor, laughing and joking and tickling her and only half listening to the TV, when the Breaking News logo came in.  I turned to face the TV and was immediately drawn to the shocking view of the Tower with the huge gaping hole in it.  Black billowing smoke emanating from the building and that first glimpse of someone just above the hole to the right, sticking out the window waving something white. 

I knew that this was serious but never in a million years would I have been prepared for what was about to unfold right before my eyes.  When I remember that second airplane coming in as if in slow motion, I also remember the moment it hit me that America was under attack, that these weren't accidents, these were deliberate.

Jasmine continued playing on the ground, laughing and completely oblivious to what was unfolding and for that I am thankful, I didn't want my child to have to face the truth that there is such evil out there willing to take the lives of thousands of people without a second thought.

The next hours became a day I will never forget.  I couldn't pull myself away from the TV, I watched people on the ground screaming and crying, I watched people stumble from the towers with horror written on their faces and I watched helplessly as bodies fell from the sky and with each person that jumped I involuntarily reached toward the TV as if I could magically catch them all in my arms. 

I cried, no, I sobbed and even though I wasn't there, the pain I felt watching on TV was heart wrenching.

I woke my husband up and informed him of what was happening,  I will always remember that he looked up at me with shock and confusion on his face and said "Ok, thank you, let me try and get a little more sleep because I know what's coming".  So did I!

As a military wife that moment took on a whole new meaning because I knew that shortly he would be packing his bags, not a word of where he was headed and I would be left with my 2 year old as he went off to do his duty.

But the sacrifice that we as a military family made, will NEVER be as big as the sacrifice that so many made on that day. 

So today, I sit back and reflect, remember and send out a prayer for all those who lost their lives, to all the families left behind, to all the first responders who went in to save lives and lost their own.  To this beautiful country that I call my home.

We Will Never Forget!