Where were you?

Today's Friday Fives is going to be a little bit different. As usual, I like to link up to Beth's blog for the fun it brings on Fridays. Today's will be more serious.

Sometimes it takes the serious stuff to make us really appreciate all the fun.

There are several dates in history to which people will say "Where were you when...." Some of them are in my lifetime, many are not. I remember where I was when Princess Diana got married, and when she died. I remember the Pan-Am Lockarbie bombing. However, I was not here yet to remember the Kennedy assassination, Pearl Harbor, the end of WWII, etc.

So, the big day in history that will forever stand out in my memory is September 11, 2001. I remember it so clearly, it is almost as if I can go back. I mean, I remember even the minute details of what I was doing that day. Strange..... the things that stick with you on days like that.

The first thing I remember was Chip getting in from work, as I got up to feed our newborn baby. He worked the midnight (all night) shift. Cameron was only 6 weeks old then. I went into the nursery and sat down in the rocker. I remember it was a nice morning, and very quiet. As I finished feeding him the phone rang, it was my dad. All he said was "you need to turn on the TV, something is happening and its bad. An airplane just flew into the World Trade Center."

From that point on I was glued to the TV. Chip slept most of the day, although I would stick my head in the bedroom occasionally and give him updates. He would just sit up, half-awake, and shake his head in disgust.

I just remember crying. I could hardly believe what I was seeing. I remember thinking that this new child I had just delivered 6 weeks earlier would automatically grow up in a world so different from what we had been accustomed to. I remember wanting to protect him. It scared me to think that he could grow up not feeling the safety and security that we had known until that point. How sad.

From that point on it seems like the world stopped. This was all anyone could think or talk about. All the little things like errands and housework seemed unimportant. For days we were on news and information overload. We sat and waited to hear good news of some amazing rescue, but mostly we heard stories of people who were still wondering and waiting to hear from someone they loved....



Now, Cameron is 9 years old. Now he asks me about it.

Now, I tell him that some very bad people attacked us that day and we are fighting very hard to keep it from ever happening again. I tell him how blessed we are to live in such a wonderful country and that we should continue to thank God for keeping us safe and pray that it never happens again.

I tell him that is why the brave soldiers are fighting in far away places and we should thank them every chance we get. But there were also many heroes that day, who died honorably trying to protect and save people they didn't even know.