To my children:
On this day 7 years ago the world received an awakening when terrorists hijacked 4 commercial jets and successfully flew 3 into designated targets, the 2 towers of the World Trade Center and the Pentagon. I saw the 2nd plane hit the 2nd tower on TV, as a lot of people did. I was in college at the time and when a tardy student told us, "someone just crashed a plane into a building in New York", we instinctively knew the gravity of the situation. Soon the entire school was clustered around TV sets and watching things unfold. The mood was somber and there was little noise or movement. When the towers collapsed one by one, they fell in slow motion because we knew we were watching thousands of people die. To us, we were struggling to process the events, looking for answers that the news anchors couldn't yet provide.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/September_11_attacks
I still remember that day. I won't debate the events that occurred in the years following September 11, 2001. What is more important for you to know as my children is why I don't want to forget this day. It was the first time that I didn't feel safe in my country and it's important to me to always remember the feeling since there are so many in the world who never attain a sense of security in their homeland or are forced to become refugees.
I also can't forget the heroes that selflessly helped others, including the emergency responders in Washington and New York and the passengers of the hijacked plane that didn't make it's target. All of those people made a conscious choice to do what they thought was right, no matter the personal cost. Remember the lesson there and know that your life can be drastically changed in a moment and it's up to you how gracefully you handle it.
I am extremely grateful for what we have today - a home filled with comfort and joy. I love you both so much!
Love,
Mom
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