New York...1997

Last week, for our home school book report group that I lead, my third grader chose a Christian fiction book about a little girl who goes on a trip to New York.
Interestingly, the story was written in the 90's, and the main character, among other things, goes up to the top of the World Trade Center.

All of this reminded me with such clarity of my one and only trip to New York City...

The year was 1997, and my husband was in the Navy. His ship was sailing up from Virginia to NYC for Fleet Week, and some of the spouses were getting together and flying up to meet them.


(How I wish I could find more photos to share, but they are currently hidden away somewhere. I can only find this one, single still-image from our time there...)

Now, my husband actually lived in N.Y for a couple years before I met him, but I was very excited to be apart of Fleet Week since this would be my first time ever visiting the Big Apple.
During our whirlwind four days, we did all the touristy things...

One of them being going to the top of the World Trade Center.

So with my daughter learning about New York lately, I thought it would be fun for our family to sit together and watch the home movie we had made during that trip. Especially since our children had never seen it!
So on Mother's Day evening- just two days ago- we all settled in to watch the old VHS tape of their mommy and daddy...back in the days before children!

I learned a few things while I sat with my family, viewing this part of our early marriage.
A few of them were a bit trivial, mind you, but worth mentioning...

1) First of all, we had only been married for two years and most of that time has been spent apart due to deployments. Hence, my adoring husband spent almost as much time with the camcorder in my face as he did filming the actual places we saw.
(Kind of sweet, I know...)



2) I also learned that- although I'm not exactly "waddling" around today...and I suppose I am holding up fairly well for my age...
I had honestly forgotten just how very young and skinny I looked eleven years ago.

(However, my six year old actually said I look just about the same?!!! What a great way for my little sweetie to score Mother's Day points!)

3) But I also learned that despite of the fact that it was 1997, I really seemed to have an 80's perm thing happenin'.
And I was really good at chewing gum back then and I seemed almost...could it be....cool!
(Well, at least for me, anyway...)

It was great watching it all...
our going into a retro-1940's style restaurant (I've always loved that era!)...
checking out the MET...walking through Chinatown and eating dinner in Little Italy....

And seeing my girls giggle as they watched me blow kisses at my hubby who (or the camcorder- not sure which).

Hearing my girls exclaim, "Daddy, look, your hair is SO black!" ;)

But besides the fun reliving that time in our lives, I also felt something else.
You see, I don't think I had seen this video in about seven or eight years...
Not since 9-11.

When it came to the part where we are filming our view from the very top of the World Trade Center, something inside my stomach tightened.

Besides this, there was also footage of us walking around the streets of New York, where my husband would pan in on the twin towers.

At one point a plane innocently went by the towers in view.

I don't have to explain to any of you how that sent shivers up my spine.

My now third grader was just two years old and oblivious of the crisis our nation was having when 9-11 took place. (I was also just 8 weeks along with my now six year old.)
My children thankfully didn't endure the fear of that time...and yet, my oldest is very fascinated with the fact that this attack actually happened in her lifetime... especially whenever she sees the huge magnitude of those buildings.
And she thinks her parents were lucky to actually have gotten a chance to experience being atop of them firsthand.

My husband and I agree.
But seeing the video of us touring the top of the twin towers...looking down on the incredible view from up in the clouds...standing on the very same floor where just four and a half years later, so many would lose their lives... made my heart go out afresh to all those that perished or lost loved ones in that devastating attack.

No matter how time may soften the intensity of that , we just can't ever forget...

So watching this home movie, I realized that it wasn't just a cute little piece of our family history we were viewing, this handsome sailor and his bride excitedly touring the sidewalks of New York...but it's also a piece of history in general.
Somehow intricately tied in together.

But in spite of the underlining national sadness I'll from now on remember whenever I view this video of New York...it's hard not to help but smile when I see myself look up into the camera while in the retro-restaurant and excitedly exclaim with all my youthful exuberance and recently permed hair,
"It's my 1940's salad!"

What about you...have you or someone you know ever had the chance to go up to the World Trade Center? Or, at least have had the chance to visit New York? Share your thoughts...