Ten Years Ago

Ten years ago, the world changed forever. With the September 11th 10 year memorial today, it amazes me how different life has been even though it feels like it passed so quickly. Today I played with my kids and went to church and the store. I honked and waved at the firemen, policemen, and veterans who stand on the overpasses on I-69, waving flags and draping banners that say "Never forgotten" and "All gave some. Some gave all." I cried while watching the tribute and watched in reverence as they showed the memorials.

Ten years ago, it was a typical Tuesday morning. I was 21 years old and living with Becca and her brother Michael in an off-campus house for my senior year of college. Sarah was living with us at that time because her student teaching was up by Butler. I didn't have Tuesday morning classes, so I woke up late as mom called to remind me that Matthew's class was touring Butler today and I was meeting him for lunch. As we got ready to hang up, she told me to flip on the news because a plane had hit the World Trade Center. The way she said it, I thought it was an accident and that she was only telling me because Amy, Krysten, Kristen, and I had gone to NYC in Oct 2000 and sat between the towers, eating hot dogs and watching them sway in the wind. I flipped on the TV for a second as they were reporting a second plane had hit. I thought it was strange but flipped off the TV and went to take a shower. I flipped it on for one more minute before heading out the door to walk to campus. By that time, both towers had already fallen and the newcasters had come to the conclusion that we were under attack. Matthew and I ate in C-Club in the Union building and then watched the big TV they have for more news. I went to my Physical Chemsitry lab where me and my 2 classmates (yes there were only 3 of us in that lab) talked about it on and off while doing our experiment. I came home and sat down with my roommates, Sarah, and Rob to watch what had happened. I remember Sarah being concerned because Paul worked in a tall building (Target headquarters) in Minneapolis. Luckily he was okay. The images on TV were horrifying. They showed everything over and over again, from the plane hitting, people jumping, towers collapsing - everything. I felt scared, sad, and helpless. When they finally started allowing planes to fly again, they had them flying in at lower trajectories at first and it was scary to hear the sounds of planes. I have never told anyone this, but I still hate getting on planes to this day because I can't ride without thinking of those innocent people.

September 11th has shaped all our lives. Our friends, neighbors, and loved ones went to war. Our economy crumbled. Our safety and security has come at a price, with longer waits and more security everywhere. Jen and I crossed the Canadian border in the summer of 2000 with barely a glance from the border patrol; now you can't go through without a passport, which costs at least double what it used to cost and takes significantly longer to get as they do background checks. We saw kids being patted down as we went through the airport security this last January and I had to throw out Hailey's special lotion for her eczema because I accidently packed it in the carry-on. I didn't know a single person who died that day but I went to graduate school because of September 11th. I had wanted to graduate and get a job but after September 11th, there were no jobs to be had. Everyone said the same thing: call back in a few years. I had been prompted by professors to apply to graduate school, and I had, so I made the decision to go onto graduate school. We met Dustyn & Emily and Nick & Ashley at grad school, who are still good friends to this day. I went to work for IDEM after grad school in a position that I would not have gotten without a MS degree and met Amy and Kristen, again who I am still good friends with. I now teach online college classes from home in environmental science because of that job and degree. September 11th put me on a path I didn't originally intend but it worked out well. God bless those whose lives were changed for the worse that day.

Hannah asked for the first time today what was going on as I watched and cried during the Good Morning America tribute. I told her that 10 years ago, way before she was born, and even before Mommy and Daddy were married, some bad people hurt a lot of good people. She asked why the good people let them in and I told her that, just like we talk about with strangers, you can't always tell who is bad; the good people didn't know. She asked if the police caught the bad people and I told her that the bad people died along with the good. She asked how many people died and I told her that about 3000 people died. She said that was a lot and I agreed. She wanted to know if what she saw on TV as she walked in was real. It was the Pentagon on fire. I told her it was real; it wasn't like her monster shows that we talk about as being fake. She asked how the fire started and I told her that the bad people did it. I told her that there was nothing to worry about and that the people who protect us are extra careful today to make sure that the bad people can't do this again. I hope that is true.

I am currently reading a book called "One Day." It takes two people and revisits them on the same day every year for 20 years. It was a typical July 15th day for them that first year, not knowing 17 years later that that would be the day of the death of one of the characters. It wasn't on purpose, but it was a fitting book to be reading. Wasn't September 11th just a typical day for most of us prior to 2001? That day the world watched in horror and fear and helplessness as so many innocent people lost their lives. September 11th will never again feel like a "typical Tuesday" to me.

God bless America.