Remembering 9/11

Today I had a class to go to for work. I left the house early and is typical the Saturday morning roads were mostly empty. I drove by a car dealership with those huge American flags blowing in the wind at half mast.

Nine years ago at about the same time I was drivng by those flags, our lives were forever changed. I will never forget where I was when I first heard the news. I was teaching a class of 4th graders. One of my students came in from speech class and shouted out something about towers and planes. Apparently they were watching it in class. I walked to the office and saw it for the first time- smoke pouring out of those two towers. As I was returning to my classroom, fighter jets that had been scrambled at a nearby base rushed by close overhead.

I called my husband and told him to turn on the TV. That was the beginning of a long few months of constant news coverage and depressing reports and heartbreaking stories. I think most Americans shed more than a few tears over the next few months.

At the time I was a volunteer first responder EMT in our rural county. My husband was a police officer and we have many friends and family in emergency services. Those were dark days for all of us. It was hard to continue on without being depressed or obsessed.

Eventually, the pain subsided and eventually we all went on with our normal lives. Now, nine years later, I wonder how to best honor that day and those heroes who gave all so that others could live. Not only that day, but the many days and many years since. We are still dealing with the after effects of that tragedy. Americans are still out there fending off forces that fight against us. How would they want to be remembered? What is the most respectful way to honor their lives and sacrifice?

I thought about it for awhile and this is how I choose to honor those days and those people:

I will remember. I will fly a flag. I will pause in reflection. I will bless their lives. I will live my life. I will laugh with my children. I will tell those that I teach who are too young to remember how it felt that day when we were under attack. I will hold them while they cry as they experience that defining day in their lives. I will stand up for what is right. I will appreciate every day and every breath. I will live to honor those whose died to protect my life.