I'll never forget that day...
I was in the shower when Dave came into the bathroom.
D: "One of the Twin Towers was hit by an airplane."
Me: "Oh my God! Accidently?"
D: "No. They think it was a terrorist attack."
Me: "Oh my God..."
I sank to the floor of the shower and felt like throwing up. My boys were 4 and 1, and my first cognitive thought was, "What kind of world have I brought them into? This can't be happening."
As we all know it got a lot worse from there.
So many details from that day are forever etched in my memory like playing hookie from preschool because I just couldn't tear my eyes away from the T.V. I remember crying on the couch as I watched in horror as the first tower fell and then balling in disbelief as the second one came down. I'll never forget how eerily empty the streets were when I finally did have to leave the house at lunchtime. I remember in the afternoon I finally forced myself to turn off the T.V. and take the boys to the park (having shielded them from the horror of it all day). I remember shedding some tears as I chatted with my neighbor over the back fence about how we were all holding up. I remember thinking that this was how my grandmother must have felt as a young mother when Pearl Harbor was attacked. I remember feeling surprisingly reassured when President Bush addressed the country (wasn't a big Bush fan, less of a fan now).
A year later Dave and I took the boys to New York City and we visited Ground Zero. There were scuff marks on the neighboring buildings from the debri that was kicked up when the Towers collapsed. There were thousands of missing people posters still covering the fence around the church across the street. We were both so emotional as we walked around looking at each of the faces and reading the pleas of the surviving families and loved ones. So unbelievably sad. Fresh flowers and memoribilia had been laid around the fence to commemorate the passing of a year.
And here we are seven years later.
My heart is full today for all the families who lost loved ones on that horrific day.
To the resilience and strength of our country,
Heather
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