Remembering. . .

I have to write about it.

This is a Mommy blog, but this day can't go ignored by this Mommy Blogger.

I'll never forget being woken up by my little brother pounding on my bedroom door that morning. He was yelling at me that my dad was on the phone and needed to speak with me NOW. This was not a normal thing to have happen. I pick up the phone in the kitchen and my dad begins "New York City and Washington DC are under attack, turn on the TV, wake up your mother and don't leave the house." Wow, what a scary thing for a 14 year old to hear. I ignored the waking up my mother part and went right to the TV. The first thing I saw was one building on fire and a plane flying into another building. I went and woke up my mother.

A lot of that day is a blur, but I remember being very scared, wanting my dad to come home with my sister and brother and wondering what it all meant. I knew it was a very bad thing that happened, and I knew life would never be the same. My dad did eventually come home with my siblings (my eldest brother was away at college), and he kept talking about war. That terrified me. I imagined war meaning bombs going off all over our neighborhood and having to hide in the closet in hopes that the enemy soldiers wouldn't find us. I had no idea what modern war mean. One of the things I do remember about that day is my brother's friend, Andrew, coming over and staying with us all day, and making a Stouffers lasagna for dinner. Other than that, all we did was watch TV.

I come from an extremely patriotic family, but I think September 11th, 2001 made me even more patriotic and that has lasted for the duration. I am proud to be an American. Proud of the freedom we have, proud that we have been able to defend ourselves the last ten years without a draft, proud of my family members military service, past and present. I am proud. And very grateful to all those who serve in the military, police, firefighters and EMT's who spend their lives protecting the US for very little in return. Thank God for everyone who dedicate their lives to this kind of service.

There is a song that I love, that I'm sure will be played over and over tomorrow. I love this song because it is very patriotic and it reminds me of my Aunt Brook, may she rest in peace. My Grandparents celebrated their 50th wedding anniversary just a few weeks after 9/11, they played this song at the end of the night. While they played this song our whole family stood in a circle on the dance floor, holding hands and singing this song. I remember Aunt Brook looking like the happiest woman in the world, singing that song.