Where were you?

Today is the 5 year anniversary of 9/11...where were you? I was teaching in a fourth grade class. We had a break in the morning while the kids were at P.E. I called my mom for no real reason and she asked me: "Have you heard?" I had no idea what she was talking about and she then told me about the first plane that hit the north tower of the World Trade Center. I couldn't believe it and I felt an empty spot inside...how could anyone do that? why would they do that? I got off the phone with my mom and went to the office to make sure they had heard. The secretary had a small T.V. on her desk and several people were crowded around watching the live coverage. I watched until I had to pick up the kids and then tried to go on with our day 'as usual' since the principal decided we should not tell the children. We wanted to let the parents give them the first news. Any spare second I was calling Jeff, my mom or going to the office to see the updates. I slowly learned about the Pentagon and Flight 93. I wondered if it was ever going to stop--the numbers seemed to keep growing. After school I went home and watched more coverage, held my husband and gave thanks to God for the blessings in my life. The next morning I had a long talk with my fourth graders. We talked about what they knew and how they felt. We prayed for all those that had died or been injured. I kept clippings from newspapers and made a scrapbook of the day.

Looking at live coverage today and reliving that day is surreal. Not that people haven't talked about this in the past five years, but you just get busy with everyday things. Since it did not personally impact us, we don't have close reminders. I feel for those families that have spent the last 5 years grieving for loved ones lost. They wake up and have to go through every day without that father, mother, husband, wife, etc. I pray that nothing like this ever happens again. I wish the first one had never happened. I still don't undertand the hatred for our country. Why do people dislike the USA enough to kill so many innocent people? My family is quite patriotic--it wasn't hard for us to break out the red, white and blue after 9/11. I loved to see so many americans come together for those in need. As a christian, I also loved seeing the mass return to churches after the attacks. Unfortunately none of it lasted--people began to forget what happened and did not feel the need to give thanks to God for being a survivor. I feel like all of are just that--survivors. We may not have been there but we were only saved because it was not our time. God has a time for us all--I try to remember that and live my days to enjoy what He has blessed me with.

I hope you take a moment to remember what happened and pray for those that died and their families that are left behind.

Where were you?