9/11/01

I remember that day as clear as if it were today. Not saying too much, but I do remember a lot of it. :) Jeff and I were married on August 2nd, 2001, so we had barely been married a month and were living in Provo, Utah going to BYU. We got a call early morning 7 am-ish - it was before we had to be to school and it was Jeff's brother Steven. He asked if we were watching tv, nope. Well turn it on! We had just been attacked in New York City. Unbelievable, Jeff bolted for the TV turned it on and all I heard was "No way, oh my gosh, no way". I ran to see what he was talking about and we stood there watching the news, wondering what the heck was going on. We went to school and I could barely pay attention - it was unreal. It was like watching a movie - so real, but it had to be fake. I was working at Computer Support in the Wilkinson Center. I went to work and they had a TV on in there, we watched the rest of the new reports and everything else that went on. My friend (former roommate) Alyssa - her dad worked in the Pentagon, so when that was hit, I instantly thought of her and hoped he was okay.

As the days unfolded and stories started pouring out of the selflessness of those involved, although I didn't know any of them, I was truly grateful for each of them and was amazed at how the Lord had gone to work preparing us and helping us heal. Those who risked their lives to save their co-workers, those who were late to work and saved, who followed a prompting to not go to work and so many more. A friend of mine who was moving from Canada to Washington State with her little family and made the move just days before 9/11 - she wouldn't have been able to move after 9/11 because the borders were shut down. So many stories and so many heros - firefighters, police officers, medical personnel and every other individual that went through that horrible day.

I love the songwriters who were inspired to create music to remember this day and others similar - Pearl Harbor, World Wars 1 and 2, Vietnam, Persian Gulf War, and so many more. I remember listening to Toby Keith's "Courtesy of the Red White and Blue" and "Proud to be an American" by Lee Greenwood, Alan Jackson's "Where were you when the world stopped turning...". I still get choked up when I hear these songs. It was amazing to watch as our nation pulled together out of our own petty problems and disagreements, to be one nation to stand up for our great nation and the people who died. I appreciate George W. Bush - he's a great leader and one who was definitely needed for that time.

I still have a few of the papers from that day and days to follow and will hold onto those as part of history during my lifetime. I don't know exactly where they are, but I come across them every now and again and the same feelings come. A sense of pride for my country - grateful to military and their families, sadness for those who lost loved ones and just how precious life is and how quickly it can change.


I get choked up everytime I hear the National Anthem and see people stand for the Pledge of Allegiance, at the Olympics, at school, baseball games, football, doesn't matter where - I love it! Especially to see the kids stand and repeat it. It's a touching moment to see Lea stand with her fellow classmates and say the Pledge of Allegiance followed by a moment of silence.

"It was a war we did not start, but were called upon to finish". (From "The Price of Freedom")

Thank you and we will never forget.