On this, the 10th anniversary of 9/11, I just wanted to jot down a few memories. I had gotten up as always and was getting ready for work. We had the TV on the local news as we always did in the morning. We were getting ready to celebrate the 1st Birthday of our first born, Parker. But, there would be no party that day. We watched, along with the world, as the stories in New York, Virginia, and Pennsylvania unfolded. We watched the second plane crash. We watched the smoke rise. We watched and report and report came in. I thought of my Mom who was in New York state and scheduled to fly home a day or two later. Eventually I pulled myself away from the TV. Life had to go on I figured. I had to go to work. There was nothing I could do from where I was. I drove to work with the radio on the news and when I arrived I saw a small group of co-workers doing something strange. As I pulled up I noticed that someone had brought a small black and white TV outside because we could get no reception inside. There we stood. A group of 5-6 people. All huddled around a small black and white TV. United in grief and shock and growing anger. At one point the lady next to me let out a small sniff and intake of breath and without really thinking about it I reached my arm around her to give whatever degree of comfort I could. The rest of the day has always been a blurr for me. I remember talking with different people in the office about what had happened and what was still happening. I remember the different reactions from all the different people. The only other thing I remember doing for sure was sitting down later that night and writing a letter to my son. I wanted him to understand what had happened that day, and the feelings associated with it. I remember telling him that, no matter what he would hear in the years to come, he should never hate those involved. Rather, to focus on the heroism and outpouring of love and unity that was sweeping across our great nation.
In the years since then we've always tried to emphasize that it's Parker's birthday on September 11th. That even though a terrible thing may have happened on that day in 2001, that an incredibly good thing had happened on that day in 2000. Our family started. Make no mistake in what I'm writing. I feel for those who lost friends and loved ones on that day in 2001. I know it was a terrible tragedy. I feel a swelling of grief and also patriotism each year when 9/11 rolls around, but even more so I feel grateful that on that day I became a Dad and my wife became a Mom. I honor those innocent victims and brave workers who lost their lives on that awful day, but for me, "never forget" has TWO meanings when I think of September 11th. There may have been no party day, but there have been in the years since.
