Remembering

Where were you?  I know you remember.
Who were you with?  You'll never forget.
How did you feel?  If you're like me, you'll watch the remembrances, and feel it all over again -- and remember.

Looking back...

Tuesday, September 11, 2001
My dear hubby left for work, just like any other day.  I woke the kids up, and we started our homeschool day.  Our children (ages 7 and 3) were seated at the kitchen table doing school work.  I suppose it was some time after 8:30 when the phone rang.  It was my hubby, calling from work to say, "turn on the t.v.  What's happening?  We're hearing that a plane crashed in NYC."  IN NYC?  That could be bad.

I had no idea.   I turned on the t.v.  Time-lines now say that the first on-air reports began around 8:49.  They were on by the time I turned on the television, and I was unprepared for the sights that stopped me dead in my tracks in the middle of our living room.  (Today, our daughter -now13, told me that she remembers me standing in the middle of the living room crying.)  Of course, the t.v. was not on for long.  I had impressionable children, and could not let them view what was being shown.  At the same time, it became the subject of our day.

Once my husband knew that we were safe (and vice versa), we hung up.  He reminded me that it was not likely that we would be able to speak to one another until he came home that evening.  Phone lines were jammed.  When the kids were entertained at various points during the day, I snuck peaks at the latest breaking news reports.  It was horrifying. Eventually, the FAA banned take-offs of civilian aircrafts.  We live near a small airport.  I never realized how often we heard airplanes until there were none.  The day was silent.

I wondered what I could possibly say to our kids to answer their questions without scaring them. Sparing most details, I explained about the plane crashes, and that most people thought this was all done "on purpose."  I believe the innocence of childhood is put in place by our loving Creator.  It's such a gift that he allows children only to take in what they can wrap their little minds around. And then, they often put their own "spin" on it anyway!

Fortunately, whatever words he gave me to say to the kids must've sufficed.  The following day, I asked my son to write in his journal about what we now know as 9/11.  His words? I'll never forget them.

"I think the pilot turned too far right."

(and God told me not to argue the point.) 

Whatever we do today, however we choose to remember, let's HONOR those whose lives were lost that day.