i will never forget

yesterday hubby and i were talking about how we couldn't believe it is the eighth anniversary of september 11. it does not seem like it's been that long, and yet i think about how my life has changed in the past eight years and it seems forever ago.

i was fifteen years old in september of 2001. for some reason, school had a late start that day. i was in my bedroom listening to a cd and getting ready to leave when my dad came downstairs. he told me that i needed to go upstairs right away, there was something i needed to see. at first i thought i was in trouble. until i walked upstairs and watched the news in my parents' bedroom.

i was shocked, and didn't really know how to react. as i watched the news the second tower was hit. a few minutes later i was walking out my front door on my way to school.

the whole day was spent watching the news. every class i went to the tv was on, we all sat watching the footage being played over and over again. i learned of the attack on the pentagon and also of flight 93. i was horrified. i was appalled. i was scared and unsure of what the future held for our country, for me, for my family. but i did not cry that day.

looking back it is blantantly obvious to me that i did not fully understand the implications of that day. as an adult i am much more affected by it. i've probably teared up at least five or six times already today.

i will never forget the nearly 3,000 people who lost their lives that day. i will never forget the courage of the first responders, who were running in to the towers as everyone else was running out. i will never forget the way our nation was united in the days following. i will never forget the sacrifices made. this picture was taken last year at a local healing field. (there are many across the country. look here to see where....if there is one near you i would definitely recommend going.) hubby and i go every year. along with the flags for every life lost on september 11 are flags for every soldier from our state who has lost their life since in the war on terror. every year i cry, i pray, and i thank god for my country and the opportunity i have to live here with my family.

last year i witnessed one of the most beautiful things i have seen in my life. there was a woman with a bouquet of flowers, kneeling at the base of a flag....crying and praying for her soldier. attached to the flag was a yellow ribbon and a card with the soldier's name, rank, area of service, and the date he died. i cannot even imagine what she must have been thinking and feeling. it is an image that will never leave my mind. her soldier gave the ultimate sacrifice for our country, for our way of life, for our safety and freedom.

from the national september 11 monument at ground zero:

"May the lives remembered, the deeds recognized, and the spirit reawakened be eternal beacons, which reaffirm respect for life, strengthen our resolve to preserve freedom, and inspire an end to hatred, ignorance and intolerance."

and may we all remember to be grateful for our lives, our families, our country, and all of the freedoms which we take for granted every day.

god bless america, and god bless our american heroes.