We will Never Forget 9/11/2001

There are major events that have happened in every generation. These are events that are so life changing, or affects a person so dramatically that the person can tell you exactly where they were when that event occurred.

My parents were of "The Greatest Generation", born in 1922 and 1925, and the event their generation remembers where they were when they heard the news was of the bombing of Pearl Harbor.

My Siblings and I cover the entire span of the "Baby Boomer Generation" and our event was the assassination of President John F. Kennedy. As a girl of a few months shy of 4 years old, I still remember the aftermath of that event, not the memory of where and how I heard about it.  My older brothers and sisters can tell you exactly where they were. My younger brother was born the day after the assassination, so he would be closer to a "Generation Xer"

Generation X had some major events that happened that may have affected them, like the shooting of John Lennon or the fall of the Berlin Wall. But I think they most likely share their event with The Millennials.

Then we come to the Millennials or Gen Next, and their living parents and grandparents  9/11 is their Generation's life changing event.

 I remember that day as clear as if it happened yesterday. I was getting ready for work. I had the television on in my bedroom and was listening and watching Good Morning America when Charlie Gibson and Diane Sawyer came back from a commercial with the news of a plane flying into one of the World Trade Center Towers. I was shocked. There were videos coming in from people near the scene and you just could not believe your eyes. The though of terrorism did not even come into your mind. It had to be a terrible accident. Then about 20 minutes later another plane flew into Tower 2 and you knew it could no longer be just an accident.

I remember watching and crying. The videos and pictures of the burning buildings. You could see people hanging out of windows and some jumping or falling. It was unreal, like a movie. I was glued to the TV trying to make sense of all of this. Waiting for someone, anyone, to tell me why this happened. Then another plane flew into the Pentagon. How could this be? Who are flying these planes? What do they want? When is this going to stop? I called my husband while this was going on, and also called my work and told them I was going to be a little late and let them know what was going on.

At a few minutes before 10am, just before I was walking out of the door, Tower 2 collapsed. I was standing in front of the TV just getting ready to turn it off and I saw the tower fall. I was paralyzed. I remember just staring and crying. I didn't know what to do. I called my husband again and I worried about my kids finding out. I worked at a Middle School, my older 2 kids were in high school and my youngest was in elementary school. I was afraid they would find out about this and be scared. Hell, I was scared.

I went to work and as I was entering the school, just a few minutes from my house,  I walked into the office where everyone was in shock. We had staff that had friends and family that worked in the towers and they were frantic trying to get information on them. The principal was trying to keep the information away from the students and asking the teachers and staff to keep the TVs off in the school. As all of this was happening at work Flight 93 went down in Pennsylvania and 25 minutes later Tower 1 collapsed. I really felt like this nightmare was never going to end.

When my kid came home from school, the older two ages 17 and 14, were in High School and knew what had happened. My youngest, who was 9, heard some bits and pieces of the events, so we tried to explain it all to him. It is hard to explain the unexplainable.  It was an event in my kids lives that had them questioning their safety. As a parent it was hard to comfort them and assure them when I was questioning our safety too.

For the days and weeks that followed that day the parents and schools had the kids get involved in helping or contributing to the first responders.  On the days immediately after Sept 11, the older Kid's High School had a penny drive and collected over $8000. Every child from all socioeconomic backgrounds contributed. I was very active in the school's parent groups and we decided that the elementary kids could make survival boxes for the firefighters and police working at ground zero. All the kids either by themselves, or in teams decorated a shoebox in a patriotic theme, they wrote letters of thanks to the officers and firefighters, and they filled the box with pictures they drew and snacks. We had parents fill up their vans and cars and they made the trip from Fort Wayne, Indiana to New York City to deliver the boxes. They took pictures and brought back notes for the kids. It was a very rewarding experience for all our kids. They really felt like they were helping.

On today, the 15th Anniversary of 9/11, I am not sure how my children remember that day. My daughter sent us a text on Friday saying that the 9/11 coverage had started on the news and it is still horrifying after 15 years. My older son is spending this day in an country in Asia, so I am not sure if he even realizes what day it is.  My youngest, I am not sure how much of the day he actually remembers.

As for me, it is always a very sad day every year. I cannot watch the documentaries or specials anymore because it is still too upsetting. I went to the Perot Museum in Dallas a few years ago and they had a special exhibit on  9/11. They had a piece of one of the towers and a room that showed a movie of old news stories and testimonials. I sat in that room and sobbed during the whole movie. Thank goodness they had tissues at the exit, because I was not alone. All you could hear in the room when the movie was over were the sobs.

I don't think there will ever be a day when the memory of September 11, 2001, doesn't make me feel like I did that morning standing in my bedroom watching an event that changed a Generation.