Where Were You When You Heard...

Where were you when you heard about what had happened two years ago in New York City? How did it change your life? How did it change your priorities?

I was at home. We'd just gotten up and turned on the news and I was watching videotape of the first plane hitting. I called out to my husband, "Hey Roy! Some idiot flew into the World Trade Center!"

At that time no one really knew what was happening (this was about five or ten minutes after it hit). We thought maybe it was a light plane with a bad pilot. I don't think I thought about people working there or what even a small plane hitting might have meant to them. It was still so early that I didn't realize people would be at work.

While I was in the bathroom getting ready Roy called out "Oh my God. Another plane just flew into the other tower."

My blood ran cold.

All I could think was, "We're being attacked."

And we were! We were being attacked! It was the most frightening day of my life.

As the day went on we all wanted to be glued to the news. We heard the Pentagon was hit shortly after. News came of the fourth plane. I was in the main office at school when the first tower fell. We all stared at the TV in horror...all those people. Oh my God.

I was back in my classroom, alone, when the second tower fell. At that point I think my mind closed to the realities, protecting me from the true understanding of the devastation of what had happened.

Students came in, shell shocked. I made a quick decision as the bell rang to turn off the news. They are children. They need some respite from too much reality too quickly. I decided that my classroom would be a news free zone unless they wanted to watch it.

No one wanted to. They were full of questions and fears. It was my job to stop the tears that had been pouring all day and be there for them. We talked about it, and agreed to try to carry on as best we could that day. There were tears. There were angry outbursts. My darling 17 and 18 year old boys wanted to sign up and go to war that day. I wanted to gather them all into my arms and hold them and protect them from this evil.

That night we went home and the news was our constant companion. I keep a computer in my livingroom and instant messages started popping up all over my screen. Kids who were home alone, parents off at work, needed to talk. We chatted late into the night about what was happening. One girl said thank you for not making her watch the news that day in class. Every other class had the news on and she was feeling so overwhelmed that she needed that respite. I knew I'd made the right decision.

We talked about family and about love. We talked about what this might mean for our future. Kids said they were going to call their mom's, their dad's and say "I love you" because "you just never know." We grieved together through the impersonal, but suddenly very personal medium of instant messaging. I cried as I talked to them, knowing that some would be going off to war in years go come.

The following weeks were astounding. This country came together with such love and respect for each other, for what it means to be an American, for what it means to be a human that it was incredible. Nothing could have brought us together better than this wonderful, horrible, magical, horrifying moment. Such a sacrifice, but like the Phoenix rising from the ashes, Americans rose up and came together like never before.

Personally, September 11, 2001, changed me like nothing had before and like nothing since. My little irritations in life became unimportant. My family and my friends took on a new meaning.

Today as a district we set aside the picket signs and attended a memorial service for the fallen in 9/11. We went out into the community and performed community service, weeding and cleaning up our parks and streets. It felt so pitiful. I'm sure others felt like me. I wanted to do something amazing. Something to say "Thank you for this great country we live in. Thank you for the freedoms we enjoy. Thank you for the opportunities afforded to us as Americans." Somehow pulling some weeds in the rain seemed so pifitul...but at least it was something.

Thank you for just being out there, being you, and being Americans.