where were you…

“We’ve defeated freedom’s enemies before, and we will defeat them again. We have refused to live in a state of panic or in a state of denial. There is a difference between being alert and being intimidated and this great nation will never be intimidated.” – President George W. Bush, 2001

it’s funny how thinking back to that day you know EXACTLY where you were and what you were doing…i was at work sitting at my desk when a woman came in and said “a plane just hit the world trade center”…at first we all thought it was just a stray plane that wrecked into it…it didn’t take us long to learn differently…soon after we heard of a second plane going into the other building…we all rushed to the only office in the building with a tv…i stood in that office, crammed full of people shoulder to shoulder, and watched as the towers fell…the room was completely silent as people tried to wrap their minds around what was really happening…we then heard of the third plane and we were told they were closing the building…i work for a state agency so they erred on the side of caution and closed the building…

my first thought, once i realized we were under attack, was i wanted my babies in my arms…i wanted them with me so i could protect them…i wanted to hug & kiss them and keep them safe…i wanted to be surrounded by my family and have my husbands safe arms around me…i left work and went straight to pick my kids up from daycare…i took them home and spent the rest of the day snuggling and cuddling…

i was never more proud to be an american than i was that day…that evening we got out our american flag and hung it on our front porch…basically every home or business you drove past had either a flag hanging or a sign showing their support for america…

that day we bonded as a nation…that day we knew, as a nation, that we needed God, we needed prayer and we needed hope…it is a wound that is still so raw for so many americans and i would imagine always will be…what have we learned since then?  how have we grown as a country?  how have we healed, or how have we, in our hurt, turned around and hurt others?

out for now
~kisses