9/11/2013

I sat this morning, as I do every other morning, feeding Beau his bottle and flipping through the news channels. This morning is different. Most mornings  there are partisan conversations about current events, punctuated by short clips of kittens or cute babies doing silly things. This morning's coverage is the same on every channel. It is of the events twelve years ago that forever changed America.
  I remember it like it was yesterday. I woke up to Matt Lauer and Katie Couric reporting that an airplane had hit one of the World Trade Center towers. I woke up my boyfriend and roommate, the three of us stood slack jawed, staring at the horror unfolding before us. They went to work at the radio station, I had the day off. I went to a friend's house, we pulled a TV onto the front porch and watched all day, sometimes joined by people from the neighborhood.  I remember the silence not only in the air but in the streets as well.
  So, here I am, twelve years later. I found myself explaing to our ten month old son why today is so important.  I realized that as I spoke, I was crying. Telling him that though he doesn't understand now, it is something he will learn about in school. It's something Mom and Dad will talk to him about. I told him that it's okay to ask questions and to not understand how people could do that to so many innocent human beings.
  I hope, with all of my heart, that he will never have to witness anything so senless and horrible. The pain of loss is still so palpable, I hope he never knows how that feels.
  Together, my husband and I teach Beau that America is a great country.  We teach him that there are bad people in the world, but there are many more good. We teach him that bad things happen but you have to learn to pick yourself up and move on with your life. I know he will grow up to be a good man who accepts people for who they are and does not judge unjustly. A few bad people do not define an entire culture.
  As I stepped outside this morning I noticed what a beautiful day it is. Warm and sunny with a brilliant blue sky. Much like it was twelve years ago, on the day America stood still.
  America will forever remember the brave men and women who lost their lives that day, as well as my Brothers and Sisters in Arms who have given their lives since. All to help, defend and protect the great people of the greatest country in the world.