Remember...

September 11th...nine years ago today our country experienced a tragedy that will forever be etched in our collective memory. Much like Pearl Harbor, the moment will live in infamy. Most people can tell you where they were and what they were doing when they first heard about the planes hitting the World Trade Center towers.

I had just began a new job barely a month earlier. They sent me to Salem (an hour away) to attenda weeklong training. Early in the morning on 9/11, I was getting ready for work just happened to be watching the news that morning. Not since the Oklahoma City bombing did time stand so still. I dropped my mouth in utter horror as the events unfolded. I had to leave to drive the hour to get to my training, but I so wanted to stay home that day. On the way there, the radio reported the United 93 flight that had crashed in Pennsylvania. It was so crazy what was unfolding that I couldn't wrap my mind around the sheer magnitude the events. It was when I arrived at the hotel where my training was taking place that I realized America was literally under attack.

Everyone who actually came to the training that day was in a state of absolute shock. Nobody could focus. It was quite strange to be experiencing that day with complete strangers that I suddenly felt an instant connection with. We were bonded by the trauma everyone was feeling. We were across the country from where all the attacks were taking place, yet nobody felt safe or secure. Our poor trainer was trying in vain to conduct the weeklong agenda, but it was so hard for people to focus or even attend. I did leave early that first day as I just longed to be home with my son. He was almost a year old at the point and I needed to just hug him. In fact, we celebrated his 1st birthday a couple weeks later. That whole week was quite surreal. Planes were grounded and loved ones were stuck all over the place and just wanted to get home. My uncle had to rent a car and drive across a couple of states to get back to Oregon.

While the raw fear and pain of that day has been dulled by time, the healing process is definitely a slow one. I don't know anyone who sees those images without reliving a small piece of that day. So many stories, so much loss, and so much heroism. Our country may be splintered over the seemingly neverending war, but we will forever be united by that 9/11. If only we can remember that solidarity and pride we felt that day all the time, not just on the anniversary. I made a promise to myself and God that day to celebrate life as much as possible and try not to take anything for granted. I thank the good lord for my husband, my two amazing children, and all the other gifts in my life. Many hard lessons have been learned since that day, but I am grateful still. Remember...