Remembering

The year was 2001. A fresh school year had begun. I was teaching kindergarten. The day was a perfect September morning, much like the one we are experiencing today. The sun was bright and all was gorgeous. Children began coming in to the classroom. I remember a little boy named Jeremiah telling me that planes had just crashed into buildings in New York. Figuring it had to be an accidental thing, I wasn't overly alarmed. A mother of a student mentioned something as well. Of course, details were so new and I hadn't even seen a tv screen to have any clue.
What I do know is that that day forever changed so many things.
Througout the day, a high school teacher would come in and update us on what was happening. As the day wore on, the news got worse and WORSe.
I remember being fearful. The air felt different after that. It was like a heavy cloud of sadness enveloped everyone.
Parents were late picking their children up from school. Many of them because they were trying to buy gas. Gas had risen to over $4.00 per gallon at the pump that day and people were panicked. The lines were long. $4.00 gas at that time was unheard of. We had hovered near the $2 mark, but had NEVER gone over.
I remember leaving school that day and coming home to watch some coverage. It was heartwrenching. It was odd to not see any airplanes in the sky. Everything was pretty quiet.
We lived in an apartment behind an ice cream shop. Josh and I decided to take a walk to process everything. It was then that we looked up and saw the one and only plane that could be flying that day fly over. It was Air Force One carrying our President.
News anchors were choking up which is far from typical. Sheer panic began to ensue even througout the country. I remember being glad that we live in a smaller city, and glad that we hadn't planned that trip to NYC that we had talked about. BTW, we never have made that trip. As stories began rolling in, the new reality began to set in that the United States of America was clearly a target of an act the likes of which had not been seen before on this scale.
There were the what-ifs, there was sadness, but there was also hope and thankfulness.
Hope of finding survivors, hope of vindication, and hope for patriotism and freedom was among us. Thankfulness for the simplest yet most important things in life, thankfulness for a leader who vowed to take them on.
The thing that I remember so vividly from that day is this: after what these people have gone through, how can I sit and complain of a bad day? I've tried to change my perspective in that way, and be much more thankful.
Programming continued for weeks. There were specials and documentaries as the story still unfolded all those weeks following. With Josh being at work many evenings, I watched them. I remember sobbing through them with such a deep sadness that reached right into my innermost. The one show I remember most was the story about the plane carrying the brave men like Todd Beamer, Mark Bingham and others. What they did that day was so heroic. The medical personnel, the victims, the leaders, the soldiers, the families--let us not forget. I'm thankful for the privilege of living in a country that values freedom and will protect.
Today is a reminder for me to remember, be thankful, and pray. I hope it will be the same for you.