I came home from my morning class, Electrical Circuits. As usual, my roommates were just waking up and gathering in our TV room. I grabbed some breakfast and sat on our couch while my roommate was watching a random show on cable. Nothing out of the ordinary. Until my roommate came down the stairs saying that her mom was on the phone and a plane hit the World Trade Center, it was a completely typical Tuesday during my Junior year of college at the University of Dayton. We sat in shock as the reality of what was happening really started to sink in. For the first time our duplex at 48 Woodland was silent. We were all stunned. This was unlike anything any of us had ever been involved with before and hopefully will never experience again. No one really knew how to react, and I am not sure I know how to today.
Right now I am crying as I watch the roll call of names being read at the memorial site in New York. I cried Friday as I listened to a special on NPR they made about what people were doing September 10, 2001. It was beautiful and very touching (not sure what the name of the program was, if you know, please let know). I cried a lot. It's so hard for me to imagine what they victim's families are feeling right now as they are seeing the memorial up close for the very first time.
My son is sleeping in his swing right now and it strikes me how different life was for me 10 years ago. Life in the United States was wildly different then. Most of us were blissfully ignorant to the threat that most countries in the world dealt with regularly. My son will only know pictures of the World Trade Center towers as they once were. He will only see images of the towers as they were hit. He will be told stories about that day through the eyes of those who were alive back then. The closest thing to this for me would be my parents telling where they were and what they were doing when Kennedy was shot. I remember how foreign that was to me growing up. Now it seems all too familiar. My son will not know the world before 9/11. I have a harder time remembering what it was like the further away it gets. I hope that his generation never has to experience anything like this. I don't want him to ever have this be his reality. I want him to only know the stories, not know the feeling, and not understand why his mommy cries every time she hears a Septemer 11th story.
I think they did an amazing job on the memorial. I think that the fountains are lovely. I love that they have the names of those lost engraved around the edge. There is still a lot of work to be done, but this is beautiful.
4 years ago I went to NYC for Christmas with my family. The hubs, my little sister, and I went to ground zero since Craig had never seen the Trade Center in person. It was quiet. People were quiet. There were not words then, and there are not words now.
Here are some of the pictures I took that day.
To the families of those lost in the Twin Towers, Shanksville, PA, and the Pentagon, God Bless you. We will all remember this day for as long as we live.
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