Today, people across the country, and across the world, are remembering.
Today, people are sharing their own memories of where they were when they heard the shocking, horrifying news, on that fateful morning, nine years ago. I know that we did, at breakfast, lingering over our bagels, as a quiet sadness permeated the kitchen.
We sat at the table, and we shared. On that morning, my dad was at work.
On that morning, my mommom was asleep, in bed.
On that morning, I was in school, on Picture Day, waiting to have my photo snapped.
On that morning, my husband was jarred from slumber by a deafening boom and the walls of his apartment shaking, as the plane hit the Pentagon.
We shared our stories and we remembered.
And then, a small coo erupted from inside the pack n’ play across the room.
It was the baby, gnawing on her teether and cracking herself up.
New life.
New hope.
Innocence.
The future.
Those giggles woke us from the heaviness of the past, and stripped away that layer of sadness from our shoulders.
New life.
New hope.
The prospect of peace.
As as we focus on the joy of the present,
and the promise of the future,
and remember,
to always remember,
that horrific morning,
in the not so distant past.
September 11 will always be a day that haunts us, and reminds us of the darkness that can exist in humanity and in our fragile world.
I hope that September 11 may also be a day during which we can all hold our loved ones, our babies, our little wishes for a peaceful future, and smile at the love and life they bring to this world, as we listen to the laughter,
the quiet giggles,
the songs of tomorrow.