Today We Remember

September 11, 2001....A day that I am sure each and every one of us remembers exactly where we were at and what we were doing.  For me, I was a sophomore at Franklin College.  I remember turning on the news and seeing that the first tower had been hit.  At the time, it was thought to be an accident.  I went to my nine o'clock history class with my favorite professor, Dr. Hunter.  Students began sharing with him what they had seen on the news.  As he was writing the days lesson on the board, he dropped his marker and turned around with a white face.  He told us that he had a bad feeling, a feeling he had not had since the last time the U.S. had been at war, and told us to leave class.  A group of us headed to Saga (the cafeteria) and joined many others who spent hours sitting and watching the events unfold on television. 

This morning, Caleb work us up at 8am, even though he had a late night last night.  I think he knew that I wanted to be up to watch the ceremonies commemerating the 10th anniversary of 9/11.  As we watched the news, I told Caleb what had happened that day and how lucky he was to be an American.  I feel truly blessed to live in a country full of opportunity and freedom, full of people who risk their lives in order to help others, and people who wear red, white, and blue with such pride.  My heart goes out to those families who lost loved ones on this tragic day, may they always cherish the memories they had with them and know that we too remember them. 

On Friday, my school commemerated 9/11 by wearing red, white, and blue, and creating a human flag using all students and staff.  As I looked at my class, I realized almost all of them had not been born yet when 9/11 occurred.  However, many of them where still able to share what they knew about the tragedy.  As an educator, it is important that I continue to share the events of this day with my students so that they can be proud of their country, the opportunities it provides for us and its people and know that unfortunately, there are people out there who resent our great nation.  As a parent, it is important that Matt and I show Caleb how to make the most of the opportunities we have been blessed with and how to be a kind, generous,strong, loving, and determined citizen of our great nation.