9/11

I wasn't in NY and I didn't know any of the brave people who lost their lives that day. I do know one man, my husband, who continues to serve this country and protect our shores. I told him I wouldn't talk about him on my blog so I wont say anymore than just this. We owe the men and women who serve our country our greatest gratitude. The policemen and firemen and everyone else who worked to save lives that day and every day since then. For you, I am ever grateful.

I was a senior in college on 9/11/01 waiting to leave the US for London to study abroad. I was driving on Route 95 to work listening to the radio. At first they thought it was a traffic helicopter that crashed. The more I listened the more I learned. I sat there in traffic from 8:46am till 9:30am listening and crying.

A few weeks later I left the US to live in London for a few months. I never had a doubt in my mind that I wouldn't go. I didn't want to let those people hold me back from life. I left on an American Airlines plane with my friend Rocio and tried to hold back the tears. I didn't do anything brave or heroic. I just made sure that I continued to remember and reflect on the lives lost and the America that changed. My husband heard a speaker the other day who had an interesting insight. He asked everyone to look around and see the sprinklers and fire alarms and lighted exit doors. He said that we were prepared for fire. We have drills and we are taught how to deal with the situation. We are not taught how to deal with terrorism. The people on United Airlines Flight 93 fought back. The people in the towers helped others to get out. The firemen and policemen ran in to save others. I'd like to think that faced with a similar situation that I would fight to save lives.

I will be thinking of these people all day.

The hundreds of people who died in the WTC towers, The 92 crew members and passengers on American Airlines Flight 11, the 64 crew members and passengers on American Airlines Flight 77, the 56 passengers and 9 crew members of United Airlines Flight 175, the 125 service members and employees in the Pentagon, and the 45 people on United Airlines Flight 93.