Remembering 9/11

Today is always full of many different feelings for me. I remember the day that changed America forever clearly. I was teaching Middle School and had a class full of 8 graders when another teacher came to my door and told me what was going on. We ended up setting up televisions in several rooms and the teacher's lounge. It was next to impossible to stop watching. It was really hard explaining to the kids what was going on. I also remember going outside our school, which is a rural school out in the middle of nowhere. It is not even in a town! The sky was so clear and beautiful that day. And all across it, we could see all of the vapor trails from the planes trying to land. Later in the afternoon, the sky was clear, not a plane to be seen anywhere.

That day, I barely knew Allen. I knew that the events would change every American's life, I just never expected it to change mine so drastically. Here I was a teacher, in rural, central, America, a single mom and no plans to change much of anything in my life anytime soon. Little did I know, several years later, my life would be changed beyond anything I could imagine. I now find myself reflecting on how that day profoundly changed my life.

Today, I pause to remember the events of that day. I mourn the lives lost that day and all the days since, as our Heroes fight to make sure I still have my freedom. I mourn the loss of the way America used to be, before 9/11. I celebrate the patriotism that has been rekindled in our great nation. I also celebrate the life of my husband, whose own selfless sacrifices haunt him daily. Lastly, I pray for peace, for our nation as well as that of my family and all those families affected by that day 9 years ago.

Today, September 11, 2010, I honor all of America's heroes, both past and present!

Even Now........Gina