The Day Her World Stood Still

11 Sep, 2012

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It’s like time stood still. I think for many of us, it did. The cool metal of the seatbelt resting against my hip, Kearney Clinic to the right of me and traffic piled in front. 

The news filled every air way as I attempted to focus on the traffic, willing myself not to crash as I heard the towers fall. Rushing back to the office, I joined my co-workers as we surrounded the TV watching the events unfold. By noon we were all sent home knowing the future of America and our lives would be forever changed. 

There was no reason to work in the wake of the tragedy, it was best to be with our families. I picked up my two-year-old baby girl and hugged her as fiercely as I could. The world changed for both of us that day, just like it changed for the Blue Hill community last week. Granted, there were no crashing planes and there certainly weren’t any terrorists. Just souls passing from this life to the next, leaving us to pick up the pieces and embrace what is left.

Not only will our nation remember 9/11 today, but so will you and I. It’s become a part of me and maybe its become a part of your history too. The memory of where we stood that day will be pictured in our minds; leaving its imprint as part of our identities. As I rattle the keys of my keyboard my son is jabbering about his kintergarden field trip tomorrow.

“Mom, we gotta wear red, while or navy blue polo’s. It’s kinda like the flag,” he lisps.

Elijah do you know why you are wearing our nation’s colors tomorrow? Solonmely he looks at me with his big blue eyes,

“Because some bad men hurt our America mama.” 

That’s right dude. But we won’t let them make us afraid, instead we will remember those whose lives were lost that day and we remember who we are.  

 I could have let fear define me as a woman, wife, sister, mother and family who serves in the U.S. Armed Forces. I could have stopped flying on airplanes, I could have shunned every foreign-looking person I encounter. Instead on this day and everyday, I choose to live as if the air I breathe is precious. Life is worth fighting against every fear. 

Today as I drive my son to school, I will be a mom who is thankful for the freedom to choose what school he attends, I will enjoy the warm sun shining down and continue on with life, forever thanking those who have served our country. 

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