I was late to work that day. I was in my car driving, clueless - absolutely CLUELESS - as to what was going on. The Friday prior, my car had been broken into and my stereo was stolen. Ironic, because I am a chronic News Junkie and would have been listening to NPR or talk radio normally. I will never forget walking into work, passing by a co-worker at the front entrance and she stopped me and said "Did you hear what I said? The US has been attacked!"
The rest of my day was spent furiously trying to glean any news I could from the pokey little Internet, furiously calling my friend S because she stayed home from work and waiting to hear from my cousin, who worked in DC for the NEA. I was on the phone with S when the towers fell.
I was tempted to not post today. It is such a solemn day and my post was going to consist of light, "I Love My Life" kind of stuff from my lovely, wonderful weekend. Then, it occurred to me, "Isn't that one of the major lessons from 9/11? That we should grab every minute we can of Life and not waste it?" Yes, it is.
So, I will post about my weekend tomorrow because I had such a nice one, I want to always remember it. I even commented to X on Saturday evening what a lovely day it had been and how fortunate we are. Ånyway, in the meantime, give all of your loved ones an extra hug today.
4 comments:
Today it seemed more fitting to just post a regular old post than to try to sum up my 9/11 feelings.
However, I distinctly remember that day. I don't know if I first read the news online or if I just happened to turn on the TV that morning (which is something I rarely do). When I saw what was happening, I woke my husband up and we sat in bed watching the events unfold and the footage rerun over and over. It took a long time before I stopped constantly wondering what the next attack would be and when it would come. Maybe I'm still waiting...
Amen, sister. Every time I feel down I think about my incredible fortune to have grown up where I did, with the people I did and I instantly feel better.
I'm thinking of everyone today, who has to live with the horrible terror of what happened on Sept.11, and the people who have given their lives at the hands of cowards who dress up terrorism as political theory.
A.
Jane,
I was torn either way - to sum up my feelings seemed trite, since I wasn't directly affected. The few hours of worry over my cousin was the extent of my "direct connection". If you don't count having a brown-skinned spouse, though. I STILL worry about him. Conversely, it seemed disrespectful to post about my wonderful weekend and all the steps my sweet giggling baby is taking these days. Unfortunately, I AM waiting for the next attack and honestly, truly, absolutely am shocked it hasn't happened again.
Monkey,
Yes, I think that is the best lesson - to enjoy life. Although it is a coincidence that I turned 30 the same year as 9/11, it is NO coincidence that I try not to fritter my life away anymore being down about things I cannot change. Both turning 30 AND 9/11 gave me a total Attitude Makeover. For which, I am forever grateful.
I was living in Chicago. It was a light work day for me, so I decided to take a morning yoga class--something I *never* do. It was a strikingly beautiful day, I remember. The sky was so blue.
Normally, I would have had the car radio on tuned to NPR, but that day I was listening to a tape instead. As I walked toward the gym in a suburb just north of Chicago, I noticed a bunch of commuters getting off the train. I thought it was weird that so many commuters would be coming back home in the morning, but didn't think much more about it. (I found out later that a lot of the high rise office buildings in Chicago ordered all their employees to go home for fear of more attacks.)
I walked into the gym and noticed a cluster of gym rats huddled around the TV in the reception area. Again, I thought it was weird, but didn't attempt to find out more.
I finally found out what happened right before the yoga class started, but I still didn't get the full story. I thought someone had flown small planes--not jets--into the towers. I don't think anyone at the gym had the full story then.
Stunned, we all tried to make it through the yoga class, figuring that it was about the best thing we could be doing at that extraordiarily stressful time.
Later that day, I tried to go donate blood, but so many people had donated the blood banks had more blood than they needed. I really felt helpless--like I wanted to do something, but I didn't know what I could do.
Like you, I'm waiting for another attack and am surprised there hasn't been another one in the U.S. It's inevitable.
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