September 11, 2001

It's hard to believe that it's been 7 years since that morning on 9-11. Madie was just 5 months old and was laying in bed beside me, playing on her Kick-Start Gym as she did every morning. I was flipping between Fox News and Good Morning America. I noticed they had started talking about a plane flying into the WTC. They showed the hole in the side of the building and the fire coming out of it. I didn't know the size or scale of the buildings, so I assumed it was a small plane, because I thought the buildings were tall, but skinny. I decided to call Pete, so I put the tv on mute and continued to watch as I talked to him about what was happening. Suddenly I looked up to the tv, I saw that there was another hole in the other tower. I wasn't sure what had just happened, so I told Pete I was going to listen to what was happening and call him back. I'm not sure at what moment the realization came that we were under attack. Was it minutes later or just moments later? I can't remember. But, that realization came. I sat there as a new mom with my sweet little girl playing beside me, not a care in the world, as I watched and wondered what else was going to happen. There were planes still unaccounted for and questions being asked by all of the different medias. I ended up calling mom and told her to turn on the tv. We sat and watched together over the phone while the plane hit the Pentagon, before she hung up to call dad. The rest of the morning I talked off and on to my sister, Pete, and my mom, just trying to sort out what was happening. Looking back it seems like it all happened in slow motion. That it wasn't just over in 2 hours, but that it lasted all day. I remember saying to my sister that it was going to take days for those firefighters to put out those fires in the WTC. To get up that high and get those flames extiguished would be difficult at best. Not even realizing that there was a possibility they would come down. Of course, when they did come down, I had no idea - call me naive - that there were still hundreds of people still inside. It wasn't until that night that the full impact of what had happened sunk in - when all hope of finding anyone alive in the rubble was gone.

It was a day where everyone who was home was glued to the television. Everyone who was at work was glued to the radio. And, you called everyone you loved for no other reason than to know they were ok. Madie has asked me about 9-11. She learned a bit about it last year - telling me that bad guys flew planes into the WTC. I talked to her a bit about it, but just as I don't think I will ever quite grasp the severity and life-altering moments that came with Pearl Harbor or how the country felt after JFK was shot, I don't know if she'll ever quite understand what it was like for us who lived through those days of 9-11 and following. I think about how our country has changed since then. The changes that have happened in my life since then. On a happy note, I've had 2 more children and welcomed 5 nephews and a niece to our family. I've welcomed a new sister-in-law and am about to welcome a new brother-in-law as well. We've gotten more involved in our church and Pete's been promoted at work. We've made friends, lost friends, reconnected with family and more. There have been lots of good and wonderful things that have happened since that day 7 years ago. But, there have been sad times as well as good ones. I've had to see my brother-in-law go to Iraq for two tours. He is there now and I constantly worry about how he is and pray daily for his safety. I know he wouldn't be there if it hadn't been for those brief moments of evilness that were displayed that day. I think of other families who have had to send their sons and daughters to Afganistan and Iraq because of what happened in those 2 hours. I think about the families whose lives were forever changed and how many still cope with those losses. Today I fly my flag in honor of the men and women who lost their lives on September 11th and for those who have and continue to fight to protect us from another tragedy like that one. MAY GOD BLESS THEM ALL.