37/52 (1/2) Never Forget

Beam from WTC

I will never forget the morning of 9/11/01. We were living in San Diego at the time and I woke up to my husband yelling through the answering machine to wake up. I stumbled out of bed dazed and confused to grab the phone. As I answered he said "Turn on the news, we are being bombed, they are flying airplanes into our buildings." We didn't know what was going on, I quickly turned on the news to watch as two gapping holes were in the two towers, and a large piece of the Pentagon missing and engulfed in flames and smoke. They were saying maybe a small commuter plane hit the tower. You could just look at the holes and see this was no small plane. Then footage showing the airplane hitting the tower and Pentagon started to air. What was happening?

I watched in horror as people streamed out onto the streets and firefighters and police ran towards the building. Then the unthinkable happened, the towers began to crumble. The images on the screen turned to ash and smoke and what was once color was now a world of grey. I remember seeing the hole in Pennsylvania where another plane disappeared.

I remember watching our President get the news. His face filled with sorrow because the country he loved so much was under attack. I watched as he bravely sat and let the teacher finish reading the story so the little children with whom he shared the room would not be afraid.

We were a country united that day and the weeks to follow. American flags draped every car and home. People handed out water, food, clothes, and shoes to those who were walking out of NYC that day. People lined the streets to cheer and encourage the first responders who kept searching for all those that were lost and missing. I cried as I saw the walls of pictures appeared, people were desperate to find their loved ones.

My prayer goes out to all families who have lost someone due to 9/11. You have not been forgotten and I will NEVER FORGET.