2001 - Junior in H.S. - Disneyland trip
On Tuesday, September 11, 2001, I was a 16 year old, Junior in High School in Fallon, Nevada. I remember, I was in theater. I was trying to learn French. I had 4 AP classes. I woke up early and went to my zero hour seminary class (which started at 6am), and then headed to my zero hour AP Chemistry class at the high school. Before school started, my classmates and I were just visiting outside our classroom, which was next to the school parking lot. Some of my classmates were in their car waiting for class to start and were talking about how the World Trade Center towers had been hit by an airplane. We walked over and started listening to the radio. I had never heard of the towers before and so the whole situation seemed very distant. When we went into our Chemistry class, we told our teacher. I remember him mentioning it, but the whole thing had just happened and no one really knew what was instore for the day. I just remember that the whole experience seemed so foreign to me. About 30 minutes into class the principle came over the speaker to annouce that America had been attacked and we were having a moment of silence. It was then that I realized that something really bad was happening. We finished our Chemistry class and we were dismissed. I must have attended my other classes and done my regular schedule... I don't remember. But, I do remember going to my English class. My English teacher, Mrs. Starr, had a TV in her room and turned on the TV so we could watch the replay of the towers being hit, and the news on the other attacks. I was stunned. Then, I will never forget, Mrs. Starr took a couple of minutes to talk with us. She told us that we would NEVER FORGET this day and where we were on this day when we learned about these events. She said that just like she remembers exactly where she was on the day JFK was assasinated, we will all remember this day. This day will go down in history as a day of infamy. Wow! What she said really stuck with me and I do remember sitting in her class and listening to her say this. For most of her class, we watched the news and replays of the attacks. It was really hard to focus on doing any school work the whole day. I remember every moment we were all trying to find out more information as we could... Probably partly because it was something else other than school, but also because the whole situation was just so unreal and unbelievable.
I don't remember much more of this day. I vaguely remember coming home and my mom talked about what had happened that day. I remember feeling so confused and scared for the people in New York, but also feeling very distant from the situation. It was over the next few days that I really began to understand what had happened with the twin towers, and the other attacks. I remember attending a special broadcast at the church where President Gordon B. Hinckley talked about the experience and asked each of us to pray and unite together as a nation. He talked about how God really is watching over our nation and we will be protected as long as we remember Him. I remember feeling how very special America really is and that this country is the promised land. I remember feeling very proud to be an American!
2011 - Mother/Homemaker/RN - Jon's B-day party
Now, 10 years later, I live in Iowa City, Iowa. I am married to a marvelous man. I have two beautiful and talented children. I have graduated from High School, recieved a bachelors in Nursing, worked for multiple years, and become a wife and a mother. Today, on September 11, 2011 it was Sunday. It seems fitting to me that 10 years later it would be Sunday, a day of reflection and worship, to remember 9/11. I woke up and prepared to attend my church meetings. Since I was On-Call for work today, I got called-in for a couple of hours. On my drive to work, I drove under an overpass. On the overpass, there was a fire truck that was hanging a huge American flag over the freeway to honor 9/11, the heroes and civilians who lost their lives on that day, 10 years ago, and to honor America! I couldn't help but smile, and remember how much I love this beautiful country. After work and church, I came home with my husband and my two children. During nap time, Jon and I watched a video that replayed the events of 9/11. It was really amazing and unreal to see it all again and remember that day. I felt so much gratitude for all those men and women who risked and lost their lives to save the lives of others. I am so grateful for my family and friends and the wonderful life I have been blessed with today. I spent the evening with family and friends outside, and enjoyed the beautiful day. Today is a beautiful day!
Today, I am an American! I am free and I live in a free country. I am so grateful to live here. I am so blessed to enjoy the freedoms of our country. Today, I my heart is with the families who lost their loved ones on that September 11th day. I will always remember where I was on 9/11/01 and my love for America and the heroes who serve our country. Thank you! I love the United States of America!
2 comments:
K, here is the blogger interface thing. When you log in to your blog, and you are at the dashboard screen, at the top of the screen on the right is a button that says something like "use the new blogger interface". Then after you click on it you can add pictures to your post in the same way as before almost - they uploat to a screen and then you click on the ones you want to upload. Then, on your post, click on the image and underneath it will pop up a little menu where you can select the size of the picture.
I totally agree with you - I hated up[loading pictures because it was such a pain in the butt! But I think this will make it a lot easier. Good luck!!!
Love that you posted this! Sigh, we miss you guys. We need to talk. SOON.
Post a Comment