This morning I posted the following on my Facebook status: "Kristin remembers the innocent victims, thanks those who served those terrible days & prays for those who still sacrifice & protect us. Never forget. God Bless America." It was hard to use a limited number of characters to describe how 9/11 still feels today.
On the morning of September 11, 2001, I was at home asleep when the first tower was hit. My roommate kept calling the house, and after not answering many times hoping the rings would cease, I finally answered the phone. She was in a panic and just kept saying, "Oh my gosh. Turn on the TV. Turn on the TV." From being in a deep sleep to receiving a panic-stricken phone call, I was a bit confused at first. That changed quickly.
I turned on the TV to watch the 2nd tower get hit and later saw both towers fall. Feeling very scared and worried, I immediately began calling family members locally and across the country and trying to get in touch with a couple of friends in NYC. Thankfully nobody that I knew personally were injured or lost their lives that day but friends of my friends did. I still remember those eerie days afterwards. After a Thursday night bible study I attended each week, I joined a friend on the patio of Starbucks. Having spent several days with everyone being kinder than usual to one another, following the laws more than not, and the oddly silent skies, I became fearful as I heard and saw that first plane in the sky. My friend and I discussed how scary it was to simply see an airplane in the sky. Everything just looked different from that day on . . .
I guess one of the oddest things about remembering 9/11 today was from a discussion with my students. I read my class a book titled "September 12th" which was written and illustrated by a group of first graders in Missouri. It's a neat book for kids that focuses on the fact that on 9.12.01, we (well, at least most children) knew things would be okay because everything to them continued to go on as usual. Of course, we all know that wasn't the same for many, many adults and children in New York, DC, Pennsylvania, and all across the country. However, as adults, we worked hard to reassure others that everything would be okay. My kids thought that all made perfect sense because they don't remember. They don't remember 9/11. My students were about a year old when that terrible day seized our country.
Yet they 'remember' in a different way. They remember their parents, family members, and friends being away at war. They know Iraq. They know war. They know battle. They know the military. When I said "9/11," my boys and girls didn't understand what it meant like the rest of us do. Some of them knew what the "twin towers" looked like from the illustration of a first grader in a book. They might not remember that tragic day, but they still feel it from their perspective.
So, yes, we must still be in remembrance, remain cautious, honor those who protect us, pray for those who will always feel the grief loss. It is also the responsibility of our generation to help future generations understand and remember 9/11.
On the morning of September 11, 2001, I was at home asleep when the first tower was hit. My roommate kept calling the house, and after not answering many times hoping the rings would cease, I finally answered the phone. She was in a panic and just kept saying, "Oh my gosh. Turn on the TV. Turn on the TV." From being in a deep sleep to receiving a panic-stricken phone call, I was a bit confused at first. That changed quickly.
I turned on the TV to watch the 2nd tower get hit and later saw both towers fall. Feeling very scared and worried, I immediately began calling family members locally and across the country and trying to get in touch with a couple of friends in NYC. Thankfully nobody that I knew personally were injured or lost their lives that day but friends of my friends did. I still remember those eerie days afterwards. After a Thursday night bible study I attended each week, I joined a friend on the patio of Starbucks. Having spent several days with everyone being kinder than usual to one another, following the laws more than not, and the oddly silent skies, I became fearful as I heard and saw that first plane in the sky. My friend and I discussed how scary it was to simply see an airplane in the sky. Everything just looked different from that day on . . .
I guess one of the oddest things about remembering 9/11 today was from a discussion with my students. I read my class a book titled "September 12th" which was written and illustrated by a group of first graders in Missouri. It's a neat book for kids that focuses on the fact that on 9.12.01, we (well, at least most children) knew things would be okay because everything to them continued to go on as usual. Of course, we all know that wasn't the same for many, many adults and children in New York, DC, Pennsylvania, and all across the country. However, as adults, we worked hard to reassure others that everything would be okay. My kids thought that all made perfect sense because they don't remember. They don't remember 9/11. My students were about a year old when that terrible day seized our country.
Yet they 'remember' in a different way. They remember their parents, family members, and friends being away at war. They know Iraq. They know war. They know battle. They know the military. When I said "9/11," my boys and girls didn't understand what it meant like the rest of us do. Some of them knew what the "twin towers" looked like from the illustration of a first grader in a book. They might not remember that tragic day, but they still feel it from their perspective.
So, yes, we must still be in remembrance, remain cautious, honor those who protect us, pray for those who will always feel the grief loss. It is also the responsibility of our generation to help future generations understand and remember 9/11.
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