september 11th.

i'll never forget that day thirteen years ago. it is as vivid in my memory as if it were today.

i was in fourth grade. i came downstairs after getting ready for school, and went into the mudroom to get my shoes. i grabbed my shoes, and started to put them on. while i was tying my shoes, i realized that the TV was on. usually we didn't have the TV on before we went to school, so i thought this was strange. i looked at what was on, and it was the news. the picture showing was a tower that was on fire with dark, black smoke billowing all around it. i could tell that my mom was really upset about it. i asked her what was wrong, and she told me that some bad guys flew a plane into a tower in new york city. i was very shocked and puzzled. why would anyone want to do that? with questions swirling around in my mind, my mom and i walked down to the bus, and i went to school.

when i got there, my teacher was crying. all of the kids in my class were whispering amongst themselves. finally, the principal of our elementary school came onto the intercom. her voice was shaky, and emotional. while i don't remember exactly the words were that she said, words like "terrorist", "planes" and "freedom" stuck out to me. i couldn't believe that people would want to harm innocent people in cold blood. i started to cry. thinking about all of those people in new york city, the pentagon, and in pennsylvania that were killed or injured was so awful. my teacher's daughter was in one of the towers, but thankfully she got out unharmed.

thirteen years later this morning, i turned on the Today show and watched President Obama, the First Lady, and Vice President Biden take part in the first moment of silence at 8:49 EST when the first plane hit the first tower on that fateful day. as i watched them walk across the lawn in silence, i looked down at liam, and he was staring straight at the TV in complete silence. the moment overcame me, and i burst into tears. liam saw me crying, and he crawled over to me, pulled up onto my legs, and we sat there together. when the moment of silence was over, the trumpets started to play, and i just cried and cried. of all of the horrible things that are happening in the world right now, and thinking of all of the world problems that liam will have to face in his life, it can be overwhelming. but every anniversary of the September 11th attacks reminds me that we are the most powerful nation in the world, and we will not fall in times of tragedy. we will rise up, and become united as a nation. 

i am so thankful for the freedoms that we have as citizens of the United States of America.  i am so thankful for the service men and women that fight for our country all over the world to protect those freedoms and rights. as i read articles about other countries and the horrors that they go through on a daily basis, it reminds me how much i take our freedoms and rights for granted. our country is what it is because of the brave men and women who fight for us, and i'm so thankful for that.

where were you on september 11th, 2001?

(photo taken by my husband john in downtown chicago in 2013)