I Remember

I remember exactly where I was 7 years ago today. We lived in a different house, we only had one little girl--and she was little, at only 8 months old--Andy and I both had different jobs and it seemed like a pretty normal Tuesday. I was having a hard time because my gramma, my dad's mom, had just passed away unexpectedly Sunday night from a massive heart-attack. When you hear such awful news about a close loved one, who do you turn to? Your parents. But I couldn't, as mine were on their dream vacation in Alaska. I had heard from them on Monday night, and they were getting a flight out on Tuesday afternoon to be home for the planning and the funeral.

I was getting ready for work because though I still went to college on M,W,F, I worked T, Th. I had to be to work at 9, which meant that it was shortly after 8 am here in the Central Time Zone. Andy was already at work, Alayna was eating her breakfast and I was loading the car with my lunch, the diaper bag, my purse and all the other paraphernalia needed on any given day. I came back into the house and the Today Show was on like it had been before. But then I heard them say it was 9-something and I stopped. Was I wrong on the time?! I checked on the microwave clock and verified that it was only after 8, but the tv still said 9-something. That's when I realized that the Today Show was now Live in my time-zone. I sat down and they were reporting about a plane that had mistakenly hit one of the Twin Towers. I sat there, mesmerized for a moment, then went about my day. A tragedy, sure, but at that time it was thought to have been a small plane and an accidental crash.

I shut off the tv, gathered up my daughter and went to the car. After we were settled in and I backed out of the driveway, I realized that my radio station was not playing music. I was listening to a rock station and they normally didn't cover the news, except for what they called the "Stupid News," stories that belong on the Darwin Awards. Then I listened while they described seeing another plane crash into the second tower. I honestly drove in autopilot to my other Gramma's house. I rushed in with Alayna and asked her if she was watching the tv. She turned it on and told me to go to work like normal, everything would be fine. I left Alayna with her and went to work.

When I got there, no one knew anything about the attacks. They had all been at work since before it happened and didn't have radios or tvs in the office. Within minutes that changed. We spent all day glued to the tv and the radio, listening and crying together as we heard of 2 more attacks. I don't remember the office phones ever being so quiet on a weekday.

My parents never did make it home that day, or the next, or the next. We saw them a week later, on one of the first flights available across country. We had the funeral without them, at my dad's urging, but video-taped it and waited for them for Gramma's burial. My mom's side of the family really stepped up and tried to take over the "parent" role for my sister and I as we mourned for our Gramma.

Now, seven years later, a lot has happened. We have added to our family twice, I graduated college, bought a new house, Andy and I have held different jobs...But I still remember exactly how I felt on that day. It's still a day filled with sadness in my heart, but also joy. The US rallied and had a surge of patriotism that I wish was still continued today. Two close friends and family members have had children born on this day (Happy Birthday Kelsie and Brett!). And today, my parents are again setting off on another dream trip of theirs-a Mediterranean cruise. But still I remember. Do you?