Remembering & Praying

All day I have read others accounts of where they were on this tragic day ten years ago and while catching small bits of the coverage this morning old wounds opened and once again my heart aches for those families affected on September 11, 2001 and those families who have paid the ultimate price ensuring my freedom and safety every day after.

My first inclination was that my story has no place among the families grief and sorrow, today is their day. Yet, my thoughts keep turning to where I was on that terrible morning.

A recent college graduate working for Arthur Andersen in Downtown Dallas & living in Addison Circle, a secure apartment so I could be safe while living on my own for the first time. That morning I took the bus downtown and while walking to my desk I passed a group of people in the breakroom gathered around the television. The first plane had hit and at that point everyone thought it was a horrible accident.

I set up my computer and went back to see if there was any news. I witnessed the second plane hit and was shaken to my core. Once everyone got their head around what had happened our partner walked through the group telling everyone to go home. At this point nobody knew how vast the planned attack was and we were sitting in the tallest building in downtown. Shortly thereafter an announcement was made that they were evacuating the building.

While I sat on the packed bus with a co-worker and the masses of people trying to leave downtown I felt for the first time true terror of the unknown. The tollway was packed with those desperate to get home.

Mitch was still at A&M and I didn't have a roommate so I went home and sat in front of the TV crying all day long. In fact, I think this is about all I did the following weeks. He came down that weekend and as many Americans did we hung an American flag in the one window in my apartment.

This is my story. So many of us will be united in this story for the rest of our lives. What has struck me most today is that so many of my generation who were truly oblivious to the truth that evil resides in the world now are raising children of our own.

As parents, what do we take from this anniversary where we find ourselves in such a different place in life than when we experienced this tragic day?

This morning I watched the story of a 10 year old boy on September 11, 2001 that has now lived without his father as long as he lived with him. A boy, who dreams of his father but can't remember his father's voice so his father never speaks. As the mother of a young boy, old enough to hold memories but still so young I was deeply touched by this story.

I walk away from today re-dedicated to husband & children. In order to pay tribute to the lives that were stolen from families, friends, and children I must cherish mine.

This world is unpredicatable and there is still evil lurking. I worry for my children's future.

I pray that we will have individuals concerned more for the future of our children than the longevity of their political careers.

I pray for my children to never have to experience true terror as I did on that day.

I pray that as mothers and fathers we teach our children to live their lives with kindness, compassion, empathy, tolerance and grace. These children will grow shaped by the lessons we teach and will one day impact the world with either love or hatred. I pray for love.

Monica