9.11.01

I will never forget the events of that day or the days following. All three of my kids had climbed in bed with me during the early morning of 9/11. We were all awakened by a phone call at 6:38 am from my brother. He told me that the US was under attack. At first he thought it was a bomb, but after the second plane hit, it was evident that it wasn't. I immediately turned on the tv, and saw the south tower in flames. My very first thought was how were those people going to get out? The fire department doesn't have ladders that reach that high? I thought they might air evac them from the roof or something. My mind was racing and not making any sense. I called Hugh, who was at work. He and all of the guys at the station had seen the second plane hit the north tower. It was a little surreal being a firefighter that day. Nobody knew what was going on, or what else might happen. I debated on whether or not to take the kids to school, and in the end, I did. And then, on the phone with my brother, I watched the first tower fall. It was just gone. I couldn't even explain it. I watched the second tower fall as well. Later that day, I was at at Costco and all of the tv's were receiving live coverage of the attacks, and all of the people shopping just looked at each other in an almost umcomfortable way. It was as if everyone wanted to reach out and hug each other but, hey, we were at Costco, and that would have been a little awkward. I was glued to the tv for that entire week, watching as those left behind begged for their lost family members to return home. It was so devastating. I read so many articles, and felt like I got to know some of the people who lost their lives that day. Such an unspeakable tragedy.

Something else I remember is how people came together in the weeks and months following. I had never felt prouder to be an American. People smiled at each other more. People seemed more polite. People had more American Pride, and I loved it. It really did bring our country together, and I wish that it how it still was. Seems much more divided now.

I'll never forget that day. And I hope that every American takes a minute today to give thanks for the blessing of living in this great country.