5 Years Ago--September 11, 2001

I've noticed quite a lot of bloggers are recording their memories from Sept. 11. I don't think that I'll ever forget where I was that day, just like most Americans, but I also think it's a good idea to write down our memories, so I will copy everyone else and write mine here. :)

It was an absolutely gorgeous September morning here in NH. Jim and I had been happily married for just over 2 years, and were living in a cute little rented house--our first home, and loving our life together. The day started out just like every other day--wake up, shower, eat breakfast, etc. I remember that Jim was home that day; perhaps he was between jobs, but I can't remember for sure. Anyway, after breakfast I headed out to my grandmother's house, about 15 minutes away. I was meeting up with my mom, and another friend of ours, Mrs. N, and her daughter, and together we were going to replace my grandmother's old, worn braided living room rugs with lovely new ones that she had ordered. I was blissfully unaware of anything out of the ordinary as I drove down there. Mom, Gram, and I visited for a little while as we waited for our other friends to arrive. None of us three had a TV, and none of us had had the radio on that morning. I can't remember the exact time I had gotten there, but it was probably around 9:30 or 10 am. Anyway, a few minutes later Mrs. N and her daughter arrived. The first thing they did upon coming in, was to ask if we had heard the news about a plane running into the World Trade Center (they had been watching the news, unlike the rest of us!). We were all rather stunned. I remember at first thinking they were talking about a small plane (only a few passengers). I can't remember if they had only heard about the first one before coming over or if they had heard about both the planes hitting the towers. Gram turned on the radio and that's when we all realized what a huge thing was going on. All of the media people were very shaken up and it was hard to make sense of what they were saying, as various rumors and reports kept coming in. We kept the radio on the whole time as we worked on the rug project, and I remember that my grandmother was especially shaken by the news, and no wonder for an older person who has memories of past wars and the devastation wrought by attacks such as Pearl Harbor. But neither she, nor any of the rest of us, had expected an attack like this, of such magnitude, on Americans on our own soil.

I kept the radio on as I drove home; I was so anxious to get back to Jim and tell him the news. I remember feeling so scared as he and I talked about it later; we even wondered if he might end up having to go to war because of all this. Not that there was even talk of a draft or anything going on; it was just something that we were thinking about, because who knew what might end up happening after such an attack? The whole day had been so sad and tragic; it was so scary to think of all that had been going on just a few hours away from us in NY, DC and PA; our sky was bright blue and clear, but other skies not far from us had been filled with terror and flames.

The patriotism that exploded after September 11 was like nothing I have ever experienced. Many of us fixed flags to our car antennas. Radio stations kept playing patriotic music. People were thinking about God and eternity. Some liberals were even praising President Bush for a change.

I just think it is sad how quickly we forget things, as individuals and as a nation. I speak for myself, as I honestly think this is the first time in 2 or 3 years that I have remembered that today is the anniversary of that life-changing day in American history. Our patriotic fire died down quickly and only seems to flare up again on July 4th, for a few minutes. The liberals worry about the rights of terrorists rather than worrying about our national safety. Americans in general aren't thinking about God and eternity anymore.

Today I'm glad that I have the privilege of calling America "home." I'm thankful for our brave military men and women who are proudly serving our country. And I'm thinking of all those who lost loved ones on Sept. 11, 2001--those for whom today will never be a forgotten date, but a painful and personally tragic reminder of the day they said goodbye to someone they loved for the last time.

Where were you on Sept. 11, 2001? Please leave me a comment if you would like to share your memories, too.