Sept 11th...twelve years later...

I've been lucky enough to visit NYC three times (so far) in my lifetime...Mom and I were able to visit the Twin Towers in Oct '99...It's hard to believe it's 12 years...I remember hearing the news on my drive to work, my dad calling me at work to say "stay put" and talking to my friend Bev on the phone as she sobbed watching the first tower come down....I remember listening to Lee Greenwood's Proud To Be An American and crying all the way home...I continue to pray for those we lost and their family/friends...for all those who worked relentlessly to help and how we came together as a country that day! The worst of times does bring out the best in people! THANK YOU to all those who have and continue to fight for our freedom both here and overseas! GOD bless this country I'm proud to be a part of! We will NEVER FORGET!!! —

September 11th...eleven years later...

I've been lucky enough to visit NYC three times (so far) in my lifetime...My mama and I were able to visit the Twin Towers in Oct '99...It's hard to believe it's 11 years tomorrow...I remember hearing the news on my drive to work, my dad calling me at work to say "stay put" and talking to my friend Bev on the phone as she sobbed watching the first tower come down....I remember listening to Lee Greenwood's "Proud To Be An American" and crying all the way home.

I continue to pray for those we lost and their family/friends...for all those who worked relentlessly to help and how we came together as a country that day! The worst of times does bring out the best in people! THANK YOU to all those who have and continue to fight for our freedom both here and overseas! GOD bless this country I'm proud to be a part of! We will NEVER FORGET!!!

September 11th...10 years later...

Hard to believe 10 years have gone by. That morning, day, week and months that followed are still etched in my head forever. I blogged about it 2 years ago.

Watching the news coverage leading up to it this year seems to just bring everything back. Not that I don't actually think about it almost everyday, it just seems some days it becomes a little less sad...I personally didn't know anyone that lost their life that day, but I know many people (including Victor) that did. I'd been to the top of the World Trade Centers twice. Once in 1986 (as a Jr. in High School) and then again in Oct. 1999 with my mom. I remember just how HUGE both buildings were. How SMALL I felt as I walked inside to take the relatively FAST elevator ride up to the observation floor, then the TOP deck. I was on the phone with Bev when the first tower came down and having been there, couldn't possibly comprehend how something SO large could come crashing down....

10 years later, I'm still in awe of the bravery, the heroism, the self-less acts that were and continued to be displayed by so many amazing people in NY, DC and PA that day and the days/weeks/months that followed.

This year I've heard more audio tracks that we'd never heard before, including MANY calls to loved ones letting their family members know that they weren't gonna make it and that they loved them. Those people sounded so calm and brave...oh, my heart is just amazed at what people are able to do at the very scariest times of their lives.

The one really GOOD thing I remember about driving home from work on that fateful Tuesday...drivers weren't rushing. No speeding, honking...People being PEOPLE and CARING...
I'm sure everybody was in their cars listening to the radio like I was...just trying to make sense of what had happened and wondering "what next"...

Ten years later we still all wonder. Our lives are forever changed. We will always REMEMBER and we will NEVER forget! GOD bless America!

National Day of Service.

I remember vividly driving to work early that Tuesday morning and hearing the radio DJs saying a small plane has hit one of the World Trade Towers. I remember getting to work and having my dad call me and tell me to stay put and that he loved me. I remember talking to Bev on the phone and hearing her cry as the first tower came crashing down on live TV. I remember driving home, listening to Lee Greenwood's "I'm Proud to be an American" and crying the whole way. I remember watching the tv all evening and continuing to cry. I remembering praying and praying and praying for all those who lost their lives that day and their family and friends who lost a part of themselves that day. I remember thinking, I can't believe this is happening, just like every other person in the US and probably the entire planet that day. I remember thinking, what else could happen???

Eight years later, I still cry, I still pray and my heart still breaks for all those who lost their lives that day and days since.

Today has been declared a National Day of Service in Honor and Rememberance for those who lost their lives that day, in NY, PA and Washington D.C.

Today Charlie, Victor and I will do our part (be it ever soo small), in trying to do something positive to help our community/nation that we are so proud to be a part of.

God Bless America!!!