Thursday, September 11, 2008

where were you?

seven years ago today i was in bed sleeping when the phone rang. it was my sister. i could hear the panic in her voice. she told me to put the news on and started telling me the story of how a plane had just flown into one of the twin towers. i can remember watching the news unfold and seeing the building on fire...thinking what a horrible accident it was...praying for the people involved.

our two month old daughter woke up around the same time and i took her to the kitchen with me as i started a pot of coffee. we went to the living room and i turned the news on and sat down to nurse her. as i sat there watching the news wondering how a plane could hit a huge building, across the screen i watched the unimaginable become reality...another plane running into the other tower.

my throat tightened. my eyes welled up with tears. i felt nauseated. as i watched, it became very clear that these events were no accident. as the day progressed we would all learn that these events were part of a master and devious plan set in motion by people who we would never know, who never knew us. that was (and still is) a very difficult idea for me to wrap my head around.

as i sat on the couch sobbing and holding our newborn baby, i thought "my God. what have we done? what kind of a world have we brought our daughter into?" i called my friend molly and we cried together. we were both still on maternity leave with our baby girls and decided that we wanted to spend the day together. our husbands both had to work that day and we didn't want to be alone with our girls.

they only lived an hour away, so she packed a few things and drove to our house. we spent the day together praying, crying, and holding our girls, wondering how anyone could commit this horrific act of hatred.

every time i think about that day...how i felt...what it was like to watch the events unfold on television, i think about the people who were directly affected...the people who died...the people who had loved ones die...the people who watched it happen...and i say a prayer.

where were you?




1 comments:

Debbie @ Three Weddings said...

I was working for the State Auditor's office and was working on site on an audit. My co-worker came in and told me a plane hit the tower and I thought her meant a little plane. When the second one hit I realized, like you, it wasn't an accident and it was only then that I realized it was an airliner. The office we were working in set up a television and we watched in horror and the towers fell and followed the stories on the other planes. My oldest daughter was in 1st grade at the time and I wanted to go get her immediately. Unfortunately I had to finish the day, but all I wanted to do was hold her and keep her safe.