Where were you then? Where are you now?

September 11, 2001 was my youngest son’s 4th birthday. It was a beautiful NW morning. I was home with my 2 boys when my husband called and said “turn on the tv, something has happened”. I think I witnessed the 2nd plane crash live. It was hard to comprehend what was happening, what was a “replay”, what was live footage. When the 1st tower fell, I dropped to my knees and started crying. That may have frightened my children most. We didn’t celebrate a birthday that day.

Strangely, our school bus drivers decided it was a good time to go on strike. For the next few weeks I had to drive my 1st grader to school & back. Somehow this unexpected intrusion and change to my routine helped me stay connected in some small way to the chaos happening so far away. I’ll always remember leaving the school zone, waiting my turn at the stop sign, and suddenly breaking down-sobbing into my hands, knowing that the elderly crossing guard nearby “understood”.

September 11, 2008. My youngest is 11 yrs old today. Thankfully, this date is for him, a joyful day. My oldest is in 8th grade. His class is viewing a film about Flight 93, so our family was recently discussing the heroism which occurred on 9-11. Sobering conversation but we find something positive to for our boys to exemplify.

I still long to be connected to my community, but wonder if we have enough common experiences and values to understand one another. It’s a challenge to not despair, but to continue to look for what is real: how to be connected, to be a good friend & neighbor, to be heroic in whatever situation I’m given, and raise my boys not to be fearful.

I work in a prison library and heard the first report from an inmate. I thought it was a small cessna like plane and no big deal. Then another inmate says a second plane hit. I figure the inmates are just inflating the story trying to be important and get attention. I finally get to see a grainy picture of NBCs coverage just in time to see the second tower go down and I'm in shock as well as wondering if we're at war now. The inmates were extremely quiet that whole day because like the staff and everyone else who had access to a tv they were watching the whole scenario played over and over all day. The whole atmosphere that day in the prison was the most surreal I have ever seen it and believe me you can experience some weird moments in a prison setting.