Reflecting Back.

9/11/01.

I remember that day. Brian and I were living in Cedar Rapids. I got up in the morning and saw on Yahoo news that a plane had crashed into one of the World Trade Center towers. I thought that was crazy. How could someone ‘accidentally’ crash into such a huge building?! I jumped in the shower and when I got out, learned the second tower had been hit. I knew at this point it was an attack on our country. I was glued to the TV for the rest of the day. I was on the phone with my brother, Seth, because we knew our mom was traveling for work, but we weren’t sure where she was. We were pretty sure it wasn’t New York though. As we talked on the phone and figured out where mom was, we watched as the first tower came crashing down. Absolutely incredible to see such a strong building become a pile of rubble in a matter of seconds. It was all so surreal. It seemed like a movie.

I had to go to class for a couple hours and was so annoyed I had to leave the television. I was further annoyed that my professor made no mention of the events unfolding that day.

The images are forever engraved in my mind. The crashing planes. The Twin Towers coming down. The Pentagon on fire. The field in Pennsylvania with an airplane shaped crater in the ground. People at Ground Zero covered in inches of ash and dust.

What stuck out most for me was a strange whistling, siren type sound that I would hear whenever they were showing footage from Ground Zero. It took several days for me to find out it was the whistles all firefighters had on and we were hearing the ones of the firefighters yet to be located in the rubble. Heartbreaking.

In the days that followed so many stories emerged of heroism, survival, loss, and hope. The country came together in an amazing show of solidarity. Flags everywhere. People doing anything and everything they could to help.

Passengers on United flight 93 are heroes for overtaking the hijackers and crashing the plane into a field instead of the presumed target: the US Capitol and saving hundreds from perishing. Absolutely amazing strength and courage by those 40 people.

The question is always asked: How did 9/11 change you?

For me, it’s hard because I wasn’t physically there. But I heard many stories of people who rushed out the door that morning and didn’t get to tell their families/loved ones they loved them one last time. Because of that, Brian and I are always sure to exchange an ‘I love you’ and  kiss before leaving for the day. You never know when it will be the last time you’ll have that chance.

On this 10th anniversary my heart still aches for those lost and their families. I will never forget that day.