“I will always remember, I shall never forget. Today is the day I learned to appreciate life.”
Today is the anniversary of the day that changed my life not just once but twice.
9/11/01 - 8 years ago today I realized how precious life is and how fast those you love can be taken from you. I will never forget dropping to my knees, raising my hands in the air and pleading with God not to take someone I love away from me. As the tears rolled down my cheeks I choked on my words. My 4-year-old son stood watching me perplexed. Just moments earlier I had learned that my sister was not in Manhattan that day, she was in Washington D.C. After a frantic and anguished search for her I had spoken to her minutes before and she assured me that she was near the White House and FBI buildings and a safe distance from the Pentagon. Relieved I went back to listening to the news reports and praying for the people at the World Trade Center and the Pentagon. My relief was short lived as the news broke that a missing airliner - we would later come to know as Flight 93 - was assumed to be high-jacked and headed toward Washington D.C. with a purposed destination likely to be the White House. The building and the surrounding area were being evacuated immediately. The details that follow are hard to recall but I remember perfectly what it felt like to hit my knees and pray in deperation as I did at that moment.
The next thing I remember clearly was picking up my older two children from school. As long as I live I won’t forget the look on my young son’s face or tone in his voice as he told his brother and sister with pure innocence and intensity, “those bad people – they took our airplanes – and they smashed them into our buildings – and that’s not nice.” I couldn’t have explained it better if I tried.
Round Two – New Lesson
9/11/02 - 7 years ago today I was with one of my dearest friends as my God daughter come into the world. The experience solidified a bond I will always have to this precious child, her mother and my appreciation for life. As I watch her grow into her own person with an incredible personality I am awed by the magnificence and uniqueness of each individual child. My heart is always with her as if she is part of me somehow. I suppose she is because she represents how precious and unique life is.
Today I remember and am humbled by the lessons I have learned; to respect life, appreciate time and understand loss.
