Saturday, September 10, 2011

September 11, 2011

Ten years ago today, the world was a different place.  September 11 was not yet one of those days that is permanently imprinted in your mind.  It was just “Tuesday.”  But now everyone remembers exactly where they were that day.  I was only 12 but I remember almost every detail like it was yesterday.  I had been 12 for less than a month.  My mom had taken our cats to the vet that morning.  It was a clear day, but in my memory it is dark and overcast.  We were in first period when the planes hit.  And we were in second period when we found out.  I had science.  Our teachers weren’t supposed to tell us, but they turned their TVs on and we saw it anyway.  I barely knew what the word “bombing” meant.

I was in Washington, D.C. on September 11, 2001, and I will be in New York City on September 11, 2011.  My father saw the Pentagon burn from his office.  We didn’t have school on September 12.  Whatever age we were, we lost our innocence that day.  We started worrying about things like color-coded terror threat levels.  We went to war.  We stopped feeling safe on planes and in public transit and in major cities and tall buildings.

I was profoundly affected by 9/11, and yet I was barely affected at all.  A new friend told me that his girlfriend works for FDNY, and that they receive letters and artwork and 9/11 tributes every day, and have for the past ten years.  Thousands of people lost far more than just their innocence that day.

But for me, I want the 9/11 anniversary to be about the hope, strength, and courage that Americans showed in the days and weeks following that day.  What choice do we have but to celebrate the heroism that we saw that day?  To the FDNY, the NYPD, the Port Authority Police Officers, the heroes of 9/11, and everyone who lost something or someone irreplaceable that day, I offer you my thoughts and prayers.

And to cite a song that I remember waking up to on the radio one day that week...
“We get knocked down, but we’re American.”  I’m proud of my country every day for what we survived.

I’ll be wearing red, white, and blue on the anniversary.  Will you join me?

xo
C

3 comments:

  1. You put that down in words very well.
    RED, WHITE, and BLUE for me today!

    Love,
    Mrs. Kindergarten

    ReplyDelete
  2. Beautiful post. I agree, 9/11 permanently changed our feelings of security. However, it also did unite us as a country and created a stronger sense of patriotism.

    ReplyDelete
  3. “We get knocked down, but we’re American.”

    Love this.

    ReplyDelete