September 11th

I can't believe it's been 7 years since that tragic day on September 11th. At times, it feels like it didn't really happen; like it was just a bad dream or something out of the movies. I remember waking up that morning to take a shower and get ready for work. I knew nothing had gone on until I went downstairs of our West Valley duplex to turn on the t.v. to watch The Early Show which is what I always did while I ate breakfast. I turned it on to see footage of the World Trade Center buildings ingulfed in smoke. The second plane had just hit and I was thinking "how the heck does a plane fly into a building in the middle of New York?" Dan was still in the shower and I saw that we had a message on our answering machine. It was my mom and she said, "turn on your t.v. You won't believe what's happening!" I had missed her call because I had been in the shower. I was glued to the t.v. I struggled to get ready for work, not wanting to miss anything. At this point we didn't know who did this or why it happened or if it was terrorists. I finally got ready and walked next door to where my sister Missy lived. We chatted for a bit about it, then I drove her to a class she was doing for her job. On the way there, we heard on the radio that another plane had crashed into the Pentagon and then into a field in Pennsylvania! What the crap is going on? When I got to work, my boss had his little t.v. on in his office and some of us just sat in there watching it. I had the hardest time working. I remember listening to Chunga and Mister on 107.5 and they weren't playing any music. They were just talking about what was going on. I remember I heard them say that they heard that this had to be an act of terrorism and there had been reports from the hijacked planes of men speaking another language. I remember how enraged I felt. How could these bas#$*@! do this to our country? Of course the days that followed I was watching the t.v. constantly after work. Dan didn't want to hear or see much of it because that's how he is. He doesn't like the news because of how negative it is and he hates hearing of the horrible things that go on this world. A few days after it happened, I remember lying in bed and Dan was asleep. I bawled like a baby for a long time. Here I was all warm and safe in my home and these people and families across the country were in despair. I felt guilty. We didn't have any kids at the time and I think I would have held them for days if they had been born. Exactly one month after 9/11, Dan and I flew to Hawaii for 10 days, a trip we'd been planning for months. I don't remember being too scared because there were Military men and women and dogs all over the airports. Also, I told Dan, "I guess if we die, at least we'll die together and not leave any children behind." :) I am so grateful for every single person that has fought for this country, not just in the past 7 years, but since this country was founded.

So now I want to know where were you and what were you doing when you heard the news.