I remember what I was doing eight years ago, on the morning of September 11th, when the first plane hit. I was walking through the dining hall at BW, on my way to get a bagel and juice before dance. There is a massive TV in there, usually turned to some sports show since that was where all the jocks sat. Today though it was turned to the news. I don't know what made me turn to look, I was running late that day, but something caught my eye. I turned around just in time to see the footage of the first plane hitting and the live footage of the second plane crashing into Tower 2. I just sat down, in shock.
Being a NYer, visiting NYC many many times, and having just been in the Twin Towers the previous month while on vacation the concept that NYC was under attack seemed impossible to me. The thought that parents of many of my campers from the summer had just died (many worked on Wall Street) was incomprehensible. I just sat there, tears running down my face.
Even now, eight years later, watching footage from that day makes my heart hurt and it feels just as bad as it did that day. I can remember the confusion about who was responsible, then the shock of learning about the place in PA and the Pentagon's own attack. Sitting with my sorority sisters, clinging to the TV to learn any news about any more attacks. Shock is the only way I can describe it. Later other emotions would slide in, but in those early moments I think the whole country was in disbelief.
I will always remember and always hold a special place for those victims in my heart, especially those who survived but lost loved ones. As a mother and a wife of a civil servant, I can't imagine the lingering grief they must feel. Please remember this day and do something good in the thought of all the lives changed that day.
