September 11th

We will not tire, we will not falter, and we will not fail.
“Terrorism against our nation will not stand.”
“Our enemies have made the mistake that America’s enemies always make. They saw liberty and thought they saw weakness. And now, they see defeat.”
~ George W. Bush

10 years ago, I was a first time mom. My baby was 3 weeks old. My husband was busy. He was in the Marine Corps ~ man, do I miss it. September 10th, 2001 was a normal night ~ putting the baby to bed, up a couple times a night for feedings and diaper changes ~ which my man was wonderful at helping with! We had 1 car. Lived on base in a tiny 2 bedroom (couldn't have been any bigger than 900 sq. ft.)duplex at Midway Park.

September 11th 2001 came early for Jesse. They were doing work ups for upcoming float. So he was in early. I got up with the baby and put him in bed with me so i could snooze a little bit longer! I had the radio on to KISS country. Dozing off and on for what seemed like forever. When I finally woke up, reluctantly. And all the sudden, the show hosts break into a song ~ which was rare for them to do ~ and reported that a plane had hit the first world trade center. After a couple minutes, I go put Xavier in his crib and I turned the tv on. {Those were the days when we couldn't afford cable, so we had those bunny ear antenna's}
I had it on ABC and Charlie Gibson was on and reporting about the first WTC/plane collision. Then as I'm standing there, I saw the other plane fly into the other building. I stood there in utter shock. But, after a minute or two, I hear someone sobbing. I look around (I was the only one home)only to realize that tears were coursing down my cheeks and it was I who was sobbing.
I fell to the couch as I watched as people made decisions that it was better to fall to their death than be burned or be completely smashed.
At some point, I go to the phone to call Jesse to see if this was all a joke. My phone was dead. I look out my window, and it was SO clear, bright and beautiful out. When my phone finally had a tone, I couldn't get through to Jesse after a half hour. I then called my parents to make sure they were okay and they were. I eventually got through to Jesse ~ who told me to stay put ~ don't leave because all bases were locked down, if we left we weren't sure when we could get back on. It wasn't a big deal because he had the car. After doing nothing but watching coverage all day ~ and talking to Jesse when he could get through, I had a mission. He had asked me to make sure all his uniforms were washed and to get together any gear that he might need. His unit was the "on call" or next up unit. He might have to leave within 48 hours. The rumors were endless ~ the most plausible was that he might end up having to go to New York to help with the search efforts, security forces.

I spent my day feeding and changing the baby, doing laundry, and the weeping didn't stop. I was terrified beyond belief. Worried about my husband ~ who was in the branch of the military whose motto was First to Fight. Scared to death not knowing if our base was in danger. And knowing that I had just brought a baby into such a scary place.

Jesse eventually got home around 2 a.m. He didn't got to NYC. And they left on float at their appointed time ~ 6 months later. We survived 3 war time deployments.

But I will never forget the horrible utter terror of that day and the subsequent days following. Our tv's eventually went back to life as normal. As did the rest of our lives. But, our lives were forever altered, by the loss of so many lives. By so many things. And I'm grateful that I will never forget. I'm grateful that I get to educate my children on why we were attacked.

What is funny is that in our Bible classes, we have been learning about Abraham, Sarah, Ishmael and Isaac. You know, were it not for Sarah ~ who didn't trust God's promises, who made decisions with her emotions {granted, Abraham could've, and SHOULD'VE said NO WAY, SARAH}~ we wouldn't be in the same predicament we have today. You see, God promised Abraham a line through which all the world would be blessed. But, Sarah got impatient and gave Abraham permission to take another wife ~ her Egyptian (hmmmm, curious) maid Hagar who gave birth to Ishmael. He wasn't the "promised" son ~ Isaac was ~ who Sarah gave birth to 13 years later ~ but God couldn't deny Ishmael. I like that ~ God will ALWAYS keep HIS word. God told Hagar that Ishmael would be a wild donkey of a man, whose hand would be against everyone. And boy, have his descendants lived up to that.

September 11th was the scariest and most life altering moment so far in my life. But, through it, we saw who our friends/allies are. We saw that America can be a very divided country, but when it came down to it, we were UNIFIED. {And my prayer is that we could get back to that again} But, I'm grateful that I can use this to show my boys that God keeps HIS promise, and such a cut and dried right is right and wrong is wrong lesson. And, how we can make decisions in our lives good and bad, but that God will ALWAYS keep his promise. Whether HE likes our decisions or not. And that is a comforting thought.

So, here we sit, 10 years later, and it seems as though so many have forgotten. But I will never forget. NEVER FORGET.