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9/11

September 9, 2011 17 Comments

I had another post planned for this morning, but I have September 11 on the brain.  I can’t even think of a title for this post… so please bear with me as I get this out of my head and off my chest.

Waking up and turning on the news this morning to hear that there is a “credible” terrorist threat for the NYC area just fills me with angst and sadness.  I worry about my husband leaving for work today.  Sure, we’re on the other side of the country, but that doesn’t stop me from worrying about him.   I don’t say, “Oh that’ll never happen” or, “Yes, but that warning is for somewhere else…”  I don’t think we’ll ever feel totally safe again.  Let’s be honest, 9/11 wasn’t just a failure of intelligence, it was also a failure of imagination.  We live in a world where anything can happen.

On the morning of September 10, 2001 my mom was on a United Airlines flight traveling from Boston to Los Angeles.  It makes me weak in the knees to think of what might of happened had her flight been the next day. As we all know, both of the planes that hit the Trade Center towers were out of Boston, headed for Los Angeles.
It reminds me a little of that movie, Sliding Doors  Where simple decisions or a missed train can alter a life.

The decisions we make, the timing of our lives, the seemingly insignificant moments… Does it all really make a difference?

There were so many stories of lives saved because someone missed a bus on the way to work or overslept or had to run an errand on the way to work… But there were certainly people there who lost their lives even though they wouldn’t have been there under ordinary circumstances.

My parents told me about a Christmas card they received from some friends that year.  My dad knew them from his Marine/state department days and they live in the DC area.  At the bottom of the card they had added the note, “we have got to tell you about our close call on September 11″.  They assumed that Bill had been working at the Pentagon that morning.

Bill did work at the Pentagon, but he and 3 or 4 colleagues were in New York for some meetings at the World Trade Center.  On the way to the meeting, Bill spilled coffee on his shirt.  He ran back to the hotel to change, intending to catch up with his colleagues.
Because of spilled coffee, Bill wasn’t in the Trade Center.  All of his colleagues were killed.

So why all of this rambling from me today?

Maybe because like everyone else, I remember with such clarity where I was, what I was doing, and how I felt when I first saw the images.  Maybe because I was so horrified when the towers came down, that my first thought was, “Oh, Thank God they got everyone out in time…” Because of course they had to get everyone out. My mind would not wrap itself around the reality that they didn’t get out in time.

Maybe because I was so paralyzed with fear that I kept Devin home from school and I didn’t go to work that day or the next few days after…  I was doing an internship with the Mayor’s office and I was terrified at the thought of going into a government building like city hall.

I don’t know.  Maybe this entire post is more for me than for anyone else.  Maybe it’s a reminder for me to remember that there isn’t a single breath in my body that is promised to me…  That there isn’t a single moment with a friend or loved one that is guaranteed not to be the last…  I need to keep my priorities straight.
And I need to never forget any of that.

Filed Under: family, serious stuff, Tales To Tell Tagged With: Serious Stuff

Comments

  1. HouseMama says

    September 9, 2011 at 4:48 PM

    Wow – you’ve done it again, girl. I wish I had something brilliant to say, but you’ve already said it. Thanks for sharing!!!

    Reply
  2. Cherished Bliss says

    September 9, 2011 at 5:00 PM

    Great post! ; try to remember often that }od bhas a plan for everyone and to not be mad about things like spilling coffee on yourself, sure its frustrating, but we should take nothing forgranted! We honeymooned in NYC in 2006 during the annivesary of 9 11…we couldn’t even make it to ground zero but I will never forget what it was like being there!

    Reply
  3. Michell @ Girl In Air says

    September 9, 2011 at 5:09 PM

    WOW! That’s an awesome story…..

    I’ll also never forget 9/11 I had just finished my Flight Attendant training on Sept 10,2001 and was in my hotel {awaiting graduation} and watching the news…

    I couldn’t help but think of all the crewmembers watching those planes….It was and still is a very sad day!

    Reply
  4. THIS IS ME....ONLINE says

    September 9, 2011 at 5:38 PM

    I think we are all a bit reflective these days. It’s good to be reminded of what’s important. We get distracted so easily.

    By the way, I put my US flag back out this morning.

    Reply
  5. Kelli says

    September 9, 2011 at 6:40 PM

    This is the second post I’ve read that puts things into perspective for me.

    Reply
  6. Shawn says

    September 9, 2011 at 6:43 PM

    The events that happened 10 years ago are still mind boggling! How did we let our guard down to allow such terrible things to happen here, on US soil? What type of horror runs through the minds of people who not only think of but execute such unimaginable things?

    You are correct, there is no promise for another breath and we all need to be reminded of that from time to time!

    Reply
  7. Connie says

    September 9, 2011 at 7:18 PM

    September 11th is my birthday so as much as i’d like to forget…i can’t.

    Reply
  8. {darlene} says

    September 9, 2011 at 9:27 PM

    a beautiful post, on a day we will never make heads or tails of…

    so nice to meet you. Just finding you via Myra. Following along!!

    stop by Fieldstone Hill anytime!
    – {darlene}
    @ fieldstonehilldesign.com

    Reply
  9. Betty (picture circa 1951) says

    September 9, 2011 at 9:46 PM

    It all boils down to this…none of us know from one heartbeat to the next what’s going to happen. Fortunately, we feel safe most of the time, but we really never are 100% safe. There’s no such thing. We just have to go on with life and assume we’ll be OK. Otherwise, it would be difficult to function.

    Reply
  10. Sharmin says

    September 10, 2011 at 12:52 AM

    The events of 911 have really been on my mind this week, too. In fact, during several class periods we’ve watched videos and info from Discovery Education and History Channel. I almost had a fight in the classroom because a couple of kids were laughing about it, and one of my senior girls got upset and told them if it had been their dads who were some of the first to deploy to Iraq, they might think a little differently.

    I’ll never forget exactly where I was and what I was doing.

    Reply
  11. Lynn says

    September 10, 2011 at 4:06 AM

    Excellent post. Makes us all think. I feel that if it isn’t your time it isn’t your time. You will spill coffee on your shirt or you will miss your bus. Our days ARE numbered.

    Reply
  12. Gigi Baby says

    September 10, 2011 at 10:52 AM

    What a beautiful post! God bless your mom and the fabulous timing of her flight!

    I too wrote a September 11th blog check it out

    http://nycmamacita.blogspot.com/2011/09/step-into-time.html

    Reply
  13. Desiree @ The 36th Avenue says

    September 10, 2011 at 3:01 PM

    Thank you for sharing this… I love this post!

    Reply
  14. Lori E says

    September 10, 2011 at 6:42 PM

    Words are never enough. It changed the world, not just the US and we can never forget what happened.
    Who was it that said We are where we are supposed to be?
    It happens every day that someone has a close call but when it is of this magnitude it is all the more riveting.

    Reply
  15. The Chicken Lady says

    September 11, 2011 at 2:03 AM

    Living near DC we are usually on High Alert, and these few days even more. I was in Washington State on Sept 11, 2001. It affected me as an American, but now I have friends who work in the White House, the Pentagon and my husband and Daughter take the trains. I have faith that God will take care of us, NO.MATTER.WHAT, but it’s harder to accept that He’ll take care of us HIS way, not our way. I just hope our country stands strong against those people who want to break us down. I also hope we all remember to love each other a little more…not just on a day or a week, but for life. I miss you my friend and love you lots..Thanks for the awesome post. 🙂

    Reply
  16. Holly Lefevre says

    September 11, 2011 at 4:06 AM

    This is beautiful and heartfelt and honest. 9/11 is such a poignant moment in history and our lives. I remember everything about where I was and what happened in the days that followed….thank you for sharing. Every year I say I will post and the words get stuck.

    Reply
  17. MiMi says

    September 12, 2011 at 6:07 PM

    It’s strange because I thought the same thing…”Oh, well good that they got everyone out!”
    I just could not imagine that they didn’t.

    Reply

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