In Rememberance

Today my children helped lower a flag to half staff. The questions they had about 9-11 were tough to answer so they could understand the scope of what happened. How do you explain it to a 5 and 3 year old because it could open up more questions and scare them about things like planes or skyscrapers or... So, I tried to keep it short and honest. I told them some very angry people hurt and killed many, many people in our country. After some deeper and more specific questions, my daughter simply replied, "Well, that was not very nice of them." Nope.

Like everyone else today,I think about and pray for those lost on 9-11 and for those they left behind because of evil intentions. Has it really been ten years since we watched, worried and mourned the loss of lives and our country's innocence?

Where were you? Most of us adults know exactly where we were. My mom called just before the news station. Instantly, I knew this was no accident and my instincts told me it was far from over. Those instincts have almost always been right, so I felt sick at the same time. This was going to be really horrific.

I was the crime reporter at WISH TV and was already familiar with those in the midst of devastation. If you have ever held someone at a time of absolute and desperate grief...you understand. You hold them, you allow them to fall apart in your arms. They are tortured over the minute details of those final moments of those lost loved ones. Every...final...detail. There are no answers. There are no solutions to ease their pain. And this was on a much larger scale, so how do you hold up an entire country? And unless you are there in person, you can never imagine just how it truly feels there. I know I couldn't. Those on 9-11 in NY, PA, and D.C. know it all too well.

And so, ten years later, we remember those lost, the loved ones who navigate life in a different way,and for our world that is now very changed. Our young children will never know the world as most of us adults once did. That is incredibly sad. But then we are also reminded of our resilience. We are proof of being stronger and through hope, we will continue forward.