Eight Years Hence
We will always remember where we were on the 11th day of the 9th month in the year 2001. I was driving my daughters to riding lessons. We were listening to the radio, confused. I phoned my husband and was able to talk for just a minute before the connection was lost. And that is how we felt: lost.
We tried to pump gas, and searched for a gas station that was open since computers were down. We looked for a place to buy some things we needed, and stores were closed. People were constantly telling each other to stay safe.
In today’s Wall Street Journal, Peggy Noonan eloquently wrote about the children of 9/11. My children remember the day, and their fears. I remember the skies being silent, since no planes were flying. When airplanes were again permitted to fly, my children were afraid of the sound and what it might mean.
It has been 8 years, and my children are 18 and 21, young adults. Their lives and ours, and our world has never been the same. What do you and your children remember about those days?
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rudeek said,
September 11, 2009 @ 10:23 pm
I remember calling my best friend and telling her who did this while I was watching it on TV. I recall her saying, “Osama who?” Shortly after the first tower was hit, I was doing a telephone interview for a job with a drug company. I told the man I couldn’t talk right then-didn’t he know what was going on? He was clueless, and never called me back. I kind of think that’s ok. I remember getting on my knees that day, so afraid for all of those people and for myself and my family. I could hear fighter planes cruising up and down the river from Selfridge AFB. It was a life altering chain of events. I’ll never forget. Never.
Mary said,
September 12, 2009 @ 10:41 am
I recall sitting and watching t.v. with my sons and dreading the fact that our world as we had known it had changed drastically. I called my husband who was following the events and he said his boss was sending everyone home for the day. The sky over our home that was usually full of passing planes was now silent. At one point, we heard a single plane and hoped it meant the trouble had ended. We watched the commercial jet fly by to the north of us heading southeast. Not long after, we would hear of that the same plane crashing in PA.
We passed the flight 93 memorial on our way home from a trip home on September 10th this week. Our heart continues to go out to the families who lost loved ones that day. Our world was changed, but not in the way those who lost loved one’s lives and hearts were torn apart.
Laura/centerdownhome said,
September 12, 2009 @ 10:54 am
My neighbor called to tell me to turn on the TV. Meredith was 14 and the boys were almost 8 and almost 9. We all watched for a few minutes, transfixed. I remember feeling sorry for my neighbor that her girls were at school at a time when, as parents, we want to know they are near and hold them close. The boys drifted off to play, the images on the TV not a reality in their lives. Mer and I watched and talked, tried to center down and find some meaning. It was difficult when everyone seemed to be telling you how you should feel.
Kim Ayres said,
September 14, 2009 @ 11:00 am
(o)
gerry rosser said,
September 16, 2009 @ 8:32 am
I, too, know where I was and what I was doing. As I watched the TV, I heard fighter jets overhead, scrambled from nearby Otis AFB to fly to NY. I continue to be appalled by the loss of life, and amazed that it wasn’t worse, much worse.
I think about all that very little anymore. The evils perpetrated in my name (as as US citizen) since are on my mind more. That may not be politically correct, but it is the truth.
ds said,
September 22, 2009 @ 11:41 pm
There is a section of highway not far from where I live, that has a perfect view of the New York skyline. I watched the towers fall on TV in my living room, but for days afterward, if I had to drive down the highway, the smoke was eerily visible–and of course there is a “hole” in the view.
So I think of that day fairly often. It is right to remember it. Thank you.
And thank you for the kind words you left for me today
Christa said,
September 24, 2009 @ 12:35 am
I was due with our third baby, hugely pregnant with two little ones 2and just 5. I happened to turn on the TV when the first tower was burning, before it was declared an attack. My oldest asked what was happening. I turned it off and called my Dad and he described the rest of the events as they unfolded before him on the TV. I got very upset and the boys were noticing and I was afraid to have the baby that day. So we went to the park and I watched them play on the empty swingsets, letting their oblivious joy wash over me. I hugged them a lot and my husband came home from work because I would not be able to reach his cell if I went into labor. My kids don’t remember that day. It is history for them. My baby wasn’t born until 10 days later. His birth was especially joyous.