Ten years

Like many on this day, we think back to ten years ago when our lives were changed. Many forever.

For me, September 11, 2001 was a day full of emotions. I got the news of the Twin Towers getting hit by my sister-in-law while I set in the hospital next to my then 5 year old, totally oblivious of anything outside that hospital room.

I think I'd been in the hospital with her about two weeks by then, a little freaked out that none of the doctors could figure out what was wrong with her. In all honesty, the entire time I was there with her is a bit of a blur. I slept at the hospital, going home only long enough to see the other two girls, shower and update the family. As any parent knows, the hardest thing we can go through (other than the loss of a child) is watching your baby (and no matter how old they are, they are always your baby) get poked, prodded, x-rayed, and no one knowing what the hell is going on inside her tiny body.

I thank God Mom is an RN, and was working at a job that had other wonderful nurses to help advise me every step of the way.

I don't exactly recall the chain of events, but I believe I received that unbelievable call from my sister-in-law a day or two after the exploratory surgery that lead to the discovery my daughter had an intussusception. I was sitting in the recliner next to her bed reading as she slept. The phone rings, and I think it's family checking on her progress. When I hear my SIL ask if I saw the news, I tell her I haven't turned the TV on yet this morning. When she tells me to turn it on, the Twin Towers just got hit by two terrorist planes, I couldn't believe it.  As I switch on the TV and watch the events unfold before me, it was like I was watching a movie.

Like at any minute Will Smith was going to come on screen yelling at Aliens he just kicked their ass.

I continued to listen to the news reports all that day, but still felt so far removed from the reality of what was happening. I was so wrapped up in my own little world, worried about a kid who spent weeks not being able to eat, drink, pee or poop, and hoping the doctor made everything all right.

Turns out, that Doctor did an excellent job of getting my baby back to normal, and it wasn't until we were back home a few days that the reality of the Twin Towers crash truly hit me.

Today, despite our struggles, I'm very thankful for a healthy daughter (in fact, three healthy daughters) a loving family, and the men and women willing to put their lives on the line to insure each and everyone of us remain safe. 

There were so many lives lost on that day, and tragedies I have yet to experience in my lifetime. In the following weeks of my daughter's release, I heard story after story of bravery, loss, fear, and even joy.  I was so thankful my family were all currently safe and healthy, but could not stop thinking of what those closely involved with the Twin Tower crash must have been going through.

And to this day, ten years later, I still can't imagine it.  From those trapped in the Towers, first responders, the passerby on the street, to the soldiers who were sent over seas, it is beyond my comprehension what each and everyone of them has had to endure.  My heart, and thanks, goes out to each one of them.

So, to all my friends and family, be thankful for what you DO have and let us never forget the day that changed a nation forever.