9/11: Never Forget

If you ask me what I was doing at 11:45am any day last month (last week, for that matter) I probably couldn't tell you. But ask me what I was doing at 11:45 am on 9/11/2001, I can tell you exactly what I was doing.

A couple weeks or so earlier, we had decided to drastically cut out tv time. We decided that we would allow ourselves to watch the morning news, then turn the tv off at noon. I'm not sure of all of the events that happened in out house that morning. I'm sure they included breakfast, and other small tasks with the kids. I do remember looking up at the clock and seeing that it was 11:45 am. I immediately thought, "Great! I have 15 minutes of tv to watch... even if it is just the news."

I turned on the tube and just stood there... confused and horrified. I tried to comprehend the basics of what was going on, then I went into the other room to tell my husband. At that point, even though it was all over every channel, I still couldn't believe that we had actually been attacked. As my husband and I sat there watching, I had to ask him what happened... as if it wasn't real to me until I heard him say it.

We kept the tv on all day that day... and all night... and all through the next day... I don't really remember when we turned it off. Our hearts broke as we watched children and other family members holding photos of loved ones that they were desperately searching for, even days later.

One of the first nights... I really can't recall if it was the 11th or the 12th... we attended a candlelight vigil in our town. I was handed a poem on a plain white sheet of paper. I still get goosebumps every time I read it.
I posted it on here before, but here it is again.


You can go to the original post for a printable link.

On the night of May 1, 2011, I was at the 24 hour grocery store with my husband and our younger kids when my oldest daughter called me from home and told me that Osama Bin Laden was dead. Around the same time, I heard cell phones ringing and people talking throughout the store.

I remember that too... only, I had to look up the date that justice was served.

His death does not change what happened on 9/11.
It doesn't bring back the people who lost their lives, or heal their wounds of those injured that day, so we must never forget them.
It doesn't bring back the lives, or heal the wounds of our soldiers who fight to protect us from this ever happening again, so we must never forget them either.
If we want to prevent such a tragedy from ever happening again...
we must Never Forget.