I think we all remember where we were on that day and that moment we first realized what was happening.
I was sitting at my desk. The paper delivery guy came in looking ashen-faced and asked me if I knew what was happening. He said a jet had hit a building. So, we ran to the TV and turned it on just as the news was breaking. We watched. I sat with my hands over my heart trying to grasp what it all meant.
I am definitely more of a “love not war” kind of girl. But, I can say that the huge majority of people I love deeply in this world have served this country either in the armed forces or in the field of public safety. As these people in my life have served or are serving, their time of devotion to this country has shaped their lives and made them who they are so I can be the person I am–free and able to write what I think and to live each day without knowing what true fear feels like.
When I think about the events of that day, I feel very small in the world. I cannot comprehend how many different ways lives were affected by that day. People died. People were saved. People were lost. People were found. Heroes were born. Relationships changed. People enlisted. Shock and disbelief were followed by sorrow and anger. I remember feeling a strong desire to help in some way. I remember wanting to tell everyone in my life how much they meant to me. I wanted them to know just in case. I wanted to pull everyone in close to me and shroud them in blankets of happiness.
My husband and I were then just newly dating. He and I sat glued to the television watching and talking and thinking. We tried to figure out on so many profound levels what it all meant, but were really left with nothing but feelings of foreboding.
And so, a moment from me to offer a heart-felt thank you to you for following the path that called you to protect this country and people like me who dream and for making it possible for dreams to still come true. Because my life is so very much intertwined with those very people who devote themselves to ensuring the safety of all of us, I can say truthfully that not a day goes by that I don’t think about how thankful I am for you–the protectors of our country, our security, our safety, our freedoms.
Thank you.
