Remember 9/11

As I sit listening to all the radio and tv programs talking about that horrible day 11 years ago, I was thinking I've never written down my thoughts from that day. I have spoken to our kids about it quite a bit and I always spend this anniversary date remembering.

I was touched this morning, as I know Mike was, to see that Amanda had put on her 9/11 memorial bracelets we had purchased in NYC.  As soon as Brandon and Sydney saw her example, they retrieved their bracelets and wore them to school today, too.  We are proud of you kids!

We were so fortunate to go to the memorial at Ground Zero last year with our kids. It was a solemn occasion and yet amazing to see that this act of hatred did not topple our country as those who were responsible had intended.  The memorial plaza was peaceful and yet the big city continued to buzz around us.  New towers being constructed nearby.

2001-I was 9 months pregnant with Sydney.  Amanda and I were sleeping in our bed, when Mike who had just left for work started calling.  I could hear the phone in the kitchen of our Murray house ringing, but was so tired I didn't want to get up to answer it.   But, the ringing persisted.

I carefully rolled out of bed so that I didn't wake our sleeping almost 3 year old and answered the phone.  My sweet husband told me something big had happened in New York and I needed to turn on the tv.

I watched the national news coverage.  They replayed the first plane hitting the first tower over and over and as I sat watching, the second plane hit the second tower and my reaction was, "The world just changed. That wasn't an accident."  And then fear for the fact that we were bringing a brand new innocent baby into this corrupted world in just two weeks.

I spent the rest of the day glued to the tv, yet trying to keep Amanda unaware of what had happened.  I would talk to Mike many times throughout the day.  At one point, I remember going to the store for a part for our oven and talking to the clerk as we watched the tv that hung on the wall.  Everyone I interacted with that day was in a state of unbelief and shock.

I called my Dad. My parents were living in Missouri at the time and my Dad would travel by plane often. We were blessed that he wasn't traveling that day.

In the days and weeks that followed, there were many reports of lost loved ones.  There were also many stories of inspiration.  President George W Bush's visit to Ground Zero and telling the workers that the world hears you....

We learned about the victims.  How Todd Beamer and others aboard a highjacked plane took it upon themselves to save as many people as they could on the ground, knowing their lives would not be spared and rushed the cockpit in their aircraft, ultimately crashing the plane in a field in Pennsylvania.

Since moving to Kaysville, we know someone who was in the Pentagon during the attack there.  Brother Page shared his story with the youth not long ago and I sat fascinated as he retold the events.

The United States of America is a blessed country. It is a force for good.  Those forces which seek to do evil will always want to destroy that which is good.  I am so grateful that I am an American. I'm so grateful for those men and women who serve in our military, for our police and firefighters who risk their lives, not just this day, but everyday for others.

America has turned this day into a day to honor those who were lost.  We don't wallow in grief.  This is a day for service.  I cannot think of a better tribute than to follow in the example of our Savior, Jesus Christ and serve one another.