September 11, 2008

Everyone has a day that they will always remember. For most of us, I remember this day very vividly. Shannon and I were on our way to work. He was driving me to The Hartford and we were stopped from going in because my work was closed. A tanker truck had an accident in front of the building so they closed the building down because of the hazardous materials it was carrying. That happened early in the morning. I called Karla to see if she had heard anything about it and to let her know I was getting a day off. She hadn't heard anything about that but said a plane just flew into the World Trade Center in New York.
Shannon brought me home with every intention of going back to work. We turned on the TV to see what was going on since we had turned the radio now on and were listening to developing story. We got into the house and just started watching when the second plane hit the World Trade Center. We never left the house. We sat and watched it over and over again. We flipped through all of the channels catching every ones different video, etc. We cried. We watched as the people ran down the streets covered in ash, we watched as the buildings collapsed. We watched in horror as it became obvious that the planes were being crashed into the Pentagon and then Flight 93. Going to bed, not knowing what was going to happen when and if I ever closed my eyes.
Gone was our sense of security. That is a false sense because we really don't know who is trying to hurt us. We know that evil tried to come out but that God won. We know that those innocent people who were killed, taken away from their families, friend and loved ones died as hero's. Yes it could have been worse. Anyone who grieves knows that the pain doesn't ever go away, the reality is your reality changes. I didn't know anybody who died on September 11 however I know that if forever changed my reality.
Some day the girls will learn about this historic day. I will share with them what remembered, the magazine and newspaper articles, the tears, the fear and most importantly how we as a nation, came together for a brief moment. I will also talk about how my faith in God, yet again, got me through a tragic event.
Thank you to all the service people around the world who are protecting us and are fighting for our freedoms. Thank you to the families who continue to share this day in history with us. Our hearts and prayers still go out to you. God Bless the USA!