We Will Never Forget…

Just as it is for many others, every single detail of my day on September 11, 2001 will be forever ingrained in my mind. 

I remember…

… Parking my little maroon Honda Accord in the parking lot of my hometown university and reveling in the glory of the cloudless, deep blue sky that was overhead as I walked to class.  It was a gorgeous morning right at the start of my very favorite four months of the year and everything around me seemed to whisper a promise that it was going to be a lovely day.

… Barely getting settled in my seat for my 9 AM sophomore health class when one of my old friends from high school burst in the room saying that one of the twin towers had been struck by a jet.

… Thinking how awful that sounded and discussing it a little bit with the professor but proceeding with class, business as usual, because nobody quite knew the severity of the situation just yet.

… Learning that another jet had struck the other tower as I walked across campus to my Microeconomics class and wondering how on earth it could have happened twice. 

… Hearing the words “possible terrorist attack” for the first time from my Microeconomics professor and quietly calling my Mom from my cell phone while hiding under my desk in class.  I was anxious to know what was going on and, of course, nobody had internet on their phones back then.

… Listening to our professor cancel class and the university announce that they were setting up extra televisions all around campus so students could stay informed.

… Watching the coverage with a bunch of other students on a TV that had been wheeled into the library and feeling completely horrified, confused, and helpless as I watched the events unfold.

… Feeling relieved when my afternoon class was canceled because all I wanted to do was go home and be with my family. 

… Stopping by the movie theater (where I worked as an assistant manager) on the way home and discussing what to do with all of the Spiderman movie trailers and posters that were plastered all around the building.  They all featured the twin towers so we wanted to be respectful.  (They were ultimately pulled by the movie company and all of them had to be sent back.)

… Heading home and changing into my turquoise wrap top and gray pants to get ready for the special mass that our church had arranged due to the day’s events.

… Attending mass with my Momma and brothers and crying most of the way through it.  We sat in a different spot than we normally do… I’m not really sure why we did, but I will always remember that.

… Stopping by our favorite local diner to grab dinner on the way home from church but barely touching anything on my plate because I wasn’t hungry.

… Sitting on the couch all. night. long. with a box of tissues at my right side and watching the news coverage and crying right along side my Mom, my brothers, and Peter Jennings.

… Feeling sad that my Daddy was not able to be with us all night because he was in the newspaper industry which meant he had to work around the clock during major news events.

… Feeling so devastated for all of the people who had been directly affected by the tragedies of the day and feeling sad for our country. 

… Feeling so grateful to not have been directly affected by the tragedies of the day and feeling grateful that I had a place to sleep that was safe and warm. 

I still lived with my parents at that point, but I was in college and working full-time, so I rarely ever spent time just sitting around in the living room with them because I was so busy and rarely at home.  That day changed everything, though.  It made us slow down, reflect on our blessings, and just BE together.

Where were you on that fateful day?

We will never forget.