10 Years Later

September 11, 2001.


That date will forever stick in our minds.  I still get chills from watching the footage on that tragic day.  It's hard not to be emotional whenever 9-11 rolls around each year.  They say time heals all, and that may be true, but time can't make you forget.


Gosh, I can clearly remember where I was in my life at the time of the attack.  I think almost everybody can remember that moment in their life...I was in Mrs. Salem's 5th grade class.  I remember walking into the classroom and noticing that the TV was on, and my teacher was watching the news.  She had told us that there has been an accident, and that some of our parents might be picking us up from school early that day.  I wasn't pulled out of school early, but I remember it like it was yesterday.  I came off the bus, walked into my house only to find mom and sister gazing at the TV.  My dad was on a business trip at the time, but I remember seeing my mom crying hysterically with my sister by her side.  I was so confused.  At the time I knew something terrible had happened but the extent of the devastation didn't hit me until I was a little older.  I'm glad I was young at the time of the attack though because I feel like if I had been a few years older I would have fully comprehended what happened, and I don't know how I would have reacted.  


I also remember my mom telling me about her brother, my uncle, and how he used to work at the trade center some years back.  The day of Sept. 11, 2001, right before the attack, he was actually on the phone with a dear friend of his that worked in the towers.  Apparently my uncle told his friend that he had to use the bathroom but will be right back, and he put the phone down for a minute or two, only to come back to hear that the line went dead.  The first plane hit.  My uncle lost his friend that day.  I thank God that my uncle wasn't still working in the towers at that time in his life.


As I watch the loved ones of the victims from that day speak at the 10 year anniversary memorial in NYC today, not going to lie...it gets me choked up.  Especially when the children speak about the loss of their moms and dads, that really gets to me.  After seeing all of the family members and loved ones speak, it makes me realize how this senseless act still affects so many people to this day.


The memorial is so beautiful.  I think it is so simple yet meaningful, and rather than imagining the devastation that I picture when I think of Ground Zero, we now have a lovely momentum to think of.  2,977 people died that day but 1,121 of the victims' bodies were never found, and I think having this memorial is exactly what the loved ones of those that were never found needed.  They never got a chance to bury their loved ones, let alone have a place to go to mourn and visit.  The memorial definitely gives them, as well as the other loved ones of the victims whose bodies were found, an opportunity to heal, and come and go when needed.


The efforts put into creating the 9-11 memorial are amazing.  But in order to even start working on that new project, the area had to be cleaned up.  I don't think people realize how so many workers have risked their lives just by cleaning up the disaster.  Countless people now have respiratory problems and fatal aliments as a result from working in the contaminated grounds.  I'm watching another documentary about the workers who cleaned up Ground Zero and have been working on the new memorial.  One interviewee stuck out to me.  He's been working on Ground Zero since the planes hit, and sadly as a result he has major heart issues and asthma.  He says he has probably about 7 years to live.  His courage is admirable as well as the courage of all of the other workers.


I can't thank those enough who have died and are currently still fighting for our country.  I am so grateful to have such braves souls that are willing to risk everything they have for us and the safety of this country.  You all are heroes.


All in all, I look forward to the day I can visit the new 9-11 memorial.  :)  It's something I have to do in the next few years.  I think it's important.  I can't believe it has been 10 years, but it's wonderful to see how far we've come since that horrible day.  That was such a low point for our country that the only way to go now is up!  God Bless.