I'll Always Remember...

Whoa the title of my post makes me think of Sarah Machlachlan's "Remember" song. Okay but anyways. Today marks 7 years since 9/11. I think it is one of the situations in my lifetime that no matter how long it's been, I can always remember that day. My mom says she can always remember exactly where she was, who she was with and other details when she saw on TV Kennedy's assassination. It's the same thing for me with 9/11.

I was asleep in my freshman dorm room when I received a call from Maggie. She was frantic and asking if I had been in contact with my brother who at the time (and still does) work in Manhattan. I had no idea what she was talking about when she explained that one of the towers had been hit. I immediately worried about my brother, and my mom who was on her way up to NY that day to visit my brother for a few days.

I went out to the living area and turned on the TV. I then woke my roommates up, and well, we all know the rest of what we saw. I called my mom, who hadn't heard anything yet and was at the train station waiting to leave. She never did make it to NY that day. We also weren't able to get in touch with my brother until late that night, after he walked about 100 blocks, found an owner of a boat who was just using their boat generously to help people get to and from Hoboken (where he was living at the time).

It's hard to believe that was 7 years ago. 7 years. I think about how much my own life has changed in those years. I was 18 at the time, now 25. But how far has our country come? I know for awhile afterwards there really was a sense of unity. People realized we all had differences, but they didn't matter because we all were in this world together, as one nation. I guess considering how much my own life has changed, it makes sense that maybe that sense of unity, that kindness that we all had for one another for many months afterwards, could dissipate. It's sad - but it also represents healing when life returns to so-called "normal". No matter what though, it's helpful for me at least, to always reflect back on that day, to remember that sense of unity.