Remembering 9-11

In memory of this day, I thought I'd re-post a portion of what I wrote two years ago, as some of us participated in writing our memories of that fateful moment in time.

And I wanted to add that I also had a memory from just a few years earlier...

As some of you may remember, my husband was in the Navy our first few years of married life, and during that time he participated in Fleet Week in New York City. A few of us wives flew up from Virginia to spend half a week with our husbands. It was my first trip to New York, and it was an exciting whirlwind of a trip!


One of the highlights was going up to the top of the World Trade Center...peering down on the city from way up in the clouds.
Never could I have imagined the terror that would take place where I stood, just four years later...


"My very first recollection of waking that morning, was that I was still blissfully unaware of the chaos on the other side of the country.

In fact, I was hibernating under my covers. Feeling that early pregnancy exhaustion of being eight weeks along, I ignored the telephone that had dared to ring before eight in the morning. And kept ringing...and ringing. My two year old daughter was not apparently concerned about the annoying telephone noise, and continued to baby-snore away. But on the fourth series of rings in ten minutes, I could no longer ignore the persistent shrill. The thought that perhaps it was something important entered my sleepy brain...hopefully my husband was alright...and my mom.

When I picked up the phone, my husband simply said, with a strange note in his voice..."You have to turn on the news."
He knew I was not a news kinda' gal, so this was perplexing. I was relieved to hear that he was fine- but I knew something huge had to be happening.
I asked him just to tell me. He would only answer that I had to see for myself. I kept asking, the nervousness now growing, and after several minutes of his side-stepping, he finally told me.
"One of the twin towers is burning," he said simply. "They think we're under attack."

The jolt of what he said sent a shockwave through me, dispelling my fog. Minutes later, I was in front of the TV...just in time to watch the giant tower tumble to the ground...live...before my very eyes.

We all know the horror of all of these images. Even if we weren't able to watch it happen "live", most of us have seen them over and over, as they played them in the weeks to come.

For the next three days...I sat riveted to the television, being careful to not expose my little one to any horrendous scenes. But she seemed oblivious...to her, whatever flickered on the screen wasn't real, and she simply played with her toys in our little house.
And when I could get away with it, or she was napping, I would just plant myself in front of the TV and sob.

And pray.

I prayed for the families of all those lost...for the ones still trapped under the debris...and for the safety of our country (which during that week, was horribly in question.)
And then, with all my emotional upheaval, I began to be concerned about the baby I was carrying. I had already lost a pregnancy earlier in the year...I did not want to lose this one. So I also prayed for my baby...and after day 3 of living the turmoil, I finally switched off the set.

Not only did I have a newly growing baby inside of me, but I needed to properly care for my two year old daughter. And I must say...though I didn't stop praying, it was such a relief to only allow children's shows on my television screen during the day from then on. Watching Nick Jr. or Mr. Rogers with my toddler almost made me feel as if maybe the world wasn't coming to an end after all.

I do remember attending a special candlelight church service held by a church we normally didn't attend, just a day after the attack...and we were there, praying with other Christians we didn't even know. It was such a comfort for me to be united with others, in God's presence, praying earnestly for our country.

Interesting, how our country as a whole turns to God in time of crisis...but when the crisis begins to fade, we begin to forget..."

There's even more, and if you want to read it in it's entirety, you can go here.
But I thought I'd share just a part of it with you today...as we remember.

Where were you on September 11th?