I Remember...

I write this with a heavy heart laden with the innocence we lost 10 years ago today. I remember exactly where I was when I learned the second jet crashed into the South Tower of the World Trade Center. It was only then I realized that this was an act not an accident.

I had just dropped my son off with his babysitter and I was at my desk preparing for any other day of work. The www was not as wide in my world in 2001. News was mainly delivered via print and television so once the word spread, I visited the conference room to gather around the only television in the office with my co-workers. It was surreal. I was stunned. It was a long day and little was accomplished. Nothing really seemed important in the face of such tragedy. All I could think of was picking up my son and taking him home safely. At 9 months old, he had no idea of the mass murder just committed, but I felt such sadness at what this would mean for the country our children would inherit one day.

The day after, I was home with my son and glued to the t.v. It was a beautiful, bright late summer day, and yet I couldn't bring myself to go outside to enjoy it. Like so many others, I was fixated on the coverage. I spent much of the day sobbing. He studied me a little scared and also unsure of what to make of my sudden outbursts. Then I would smile through my tears and he would giggle and go on. Children are vastly wise beyond their years.

The accounts continued for weeks and months after. So many losses. So many stories and each one seemingly sadder than the next. They are still sad today. I find myself once again crying through my tears this morning as I listen to these brave children of 9/11 as they've come to be called. They are survivors. They are true inspirations. Born on or after that day, but somehow more aware than most of its impact.

And today my 10 year old knows who Bin Laden is. He knows what terrorism means. He understands why September 11th is a solemn day of remembrance. He knows why we have to remove shoes and get body scanned before we board a plane. He understands that there is more good in this world than bad...more love than hate, but that evil exists and persists.

There is a part of me that wishes he didn't have to know these things or maybe even that they weren't true, but he does and they are. And let me not forget that children across the globe wake up every day with more to face and fear, which is why I choose to remember. I remember for the children...yours, mine, ours because really...what is the difference?