I cannot believe it is already the tenth anniversary of September 11th. It feels like just yesterday America was belligerently attacked on our own soil. Everybody says that, but it honestly does not feel like ten years have gone by since that devastating day for our nation. It's funny how no matter who you talk to, whether they're old or young, everyone remembers exactly where they were, what they were doing and who they were with when they heard the news of the terrorist attacks. I remember I was in Mrs. Heath's 3rd grade class. My elementary school decided not to tell us anything about what had happened. I just remember several students being signed out and my teacher going in the hall numerous times to talk to other teachers..but I had no clue why. The day carried on pretty normal, however when I got home my brother was waiting at the bus stop to walk me home. I was confused because a. I'm pretty sure he should have still been at school and b. he had never done that before. When we walked through the garage, my parents' car was there, and I immediately became upset. You see, they were supposed to be headed back East somewhere (I think Vermont or Rhode Island?) that day on vacation and my grandparents were supposed to watch us for the week, and I was SO excited. Mainly because they would take us grocery shopping and let me pick out lunchables to take for lunch, they'd let me stay up late and we would always go get a swirl flavored ice cream cone at McDonalds after dinner. So anyway, when I saw the car in the garage, I knew they never left..which made me upset. I remember barging through the door angry, and seeing both my parents and grandparents in the family room, eyes glued on the TV screen as they repeatedly watched the planes collide into the twin towers. I sat down to stare at the painful images with them. The room was silent, except for the sound of the news anchor. I remember later listening as President Bush solemnly addressed his people. At the time, I didn't fully comprehend what was really happening before my eyes. All I knew was that I felt bad for the people who had died. I didn't understand and couldn't fathom how that much evil and hatred could even exist. I didn't realize it was possible that a group of people could kill thousands of innocent victims they had never even met. I didn't know what war was. But over the past ten years, I've become very aware of the long-term affects that our nation has had to deal with because of that one horrific day. My heart goes out to all those whose lives have been forever changed because of it.
I hope we can all remember those who died in the September 11th attacks. Not just today, but everyday. We need to remember the innocent lives that were brutally taken. We need to mourn with those who lost a spouse, parent or child. We need to honor the firefighters, police officers and EMT's who risked their lives in order to save someone else's. And we need to support our troops who are fighting and threatening their lives for us today to ensure another attack does not happen again.
I love this country, I'm grateful to live here and can truly say I am SO proud to be an American!
*If you want to cry, watch this video and this one too. Okay, well watch them even if you don't want to cry. I promise you won't regret it-they're both great. May we never forget....
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