I wasn’t aware that history was being made that day. At first, I was in complete denial. The first plane hit the twin towers and I thought, what a horrific accident. I was in my car when I heard, I was about to teach a mixed media art class. As I pulled into the parking lot the second plane hit the twin towers.The DJ on the radio declared, “this is an act of terrorism!”
Still, I was in denial.
I set up for my class with such a heavy heart. I went over the details repeatedly in my head. I struggled with this reality. My heart raced, and my spirit sank.
My students arrived and seemingly unaware set their spaces up to create art. I struggled with what to do next. I was still swimming in the sea of denial and well, how do I sound the alarm on information that still boggled my mind? I sat down with them and gently opened the door to the reality of the news I had heard. I shared what I knew, and then we turned on the news on the classroom television. One by one, they decided to go home to be with their families. (For context, I was living in Pennsylvania at the time – by that time we turned on the news the plane had crashed in Pittsburgh) Each left apologetically, but with the complete understanding that this was a devastating day. Life had changed.
As I was cleaning up the classroom, I received a phone call from my daughter. She was hysterical. She wanted to come home. (truth be told, I wanted to go get her, but officials thought it was safer for children to remain in the schools.) It broke my heart to tell her to stay in school.
As all the events unfolded, the realities, the horrors, I could have never anticipated, I knew that life, and my country was forever changed. The horror of all who passed. The endless courage of those who tried to save people and perished themselves. The generosity of souls, families, and businesses coming together to feed workers, and people in the streets, sustaining each other through the worst of times. The ramifications that are felt even today, decades later, have left a mark on life as we know it.
911 is a day in our history. It is a day that changed us but also unified us.
I pray we never forget.
#91101 #patriotday #bettertogether #sharethelove #unitedwestand