Remember September

By Stephanie

We all know what day is coming next week. Not just the possible arrival of my new baby, but that day. September 11.

Noah was just a baby, almost 7 months old. I remember nursing him in our TV room, then putting him in his bouncy seat. Jeff was getting ready for work and I was in my pajamas. I had the Fox Morning News on.

I watched as they announced the first plane hit. I didn’t realize- nobody realized- what was really happening. It seemed to be a small plane. It seemed to be an accident. I casually called to hubby, “Oh, a plane hit the World Trade Center.” Said more like “weird” than what we’d know it to really be.

I remember calling to hubby again as he was about to step out the door… “Another plane!”

That got our attention. I am sure it got yours, too. I didn’t leave the TV for days straight. I’d never watched that much CNN in my life. Nothing else was on, and this was all we wanted to watch. Over and over- how many times did we need to see the planes hit- again and again, the people running in the streets, the buildings crashing, the smoke. So much smoke.

The darkness. It was so dark and smoky and ashy and death was all around when the buildings collapsed. We didn’t know what was going to happen next. We live near Chicago and we prayed that the terror didn’t come this way, too. Another plane crashed into the Pentagon. Another one in a field… what is happening? How could this happen?

This was something that took days to process in our minds. And still to this day when there is footage, or when the 1 year anniversary came around and we sat and watched it all played out on the news again, we still couldn’t look away.

9/11 was a turning point for our nation, and most of the world. There is no going back. We’ve all changed, whether we choose to realize it or not. Carter, our middle son was considered one of those 9/11 babies when he was born 10 months later during a baby boom that was credited to families drawing close for comfort from the sudden shaking of our world as we knew it.

Things changed. History happened that day, and we were a part of it. How is it that I felt so involved and affected, and I didn’t even have a loved one inside a plane or one of the Towers that day? I am guilty of moving on and forgetting some days, letting that roll into years now, and not praying like I did that first day and the weeks afterward.

What a reminder to me- this world, our country, needs our prayers now more than ever.

Originally published on September 11, 2006.

I don’t know who I’m voting for in November. I honestly don’t know where to stand with any of the political choices we have anymore. But I will vote. And I will pray. And I will believe for a change.

Stephanie also blogs at Adventures In Babywearing.

13 Responses to Remember September
  1. Miche
    September 5, 2008 | 9:33 am

    That was very well written.

    I remember being on campus at college, casually eating some junk for breakfast, watching the news, when the first plane hit…then watching as the next appeared and hit.

    And how wonderful, if on the anniversary, a new delightful life is brought into the world. 🙂 I am sooooo excited for you!

  2. casual friday everyday
    September 5, 2008 | 10:58 am

    I still remember that day like it was yesterday. And the days and weeks and months following. It was horrible but in the same fact beautiful as we all came together…something we have lost and it makes me sad.

    I’ve got my ticket picked. With what I believe in there just isn’t any other choice. And this will be my first year voting so I’m terribly excited to be part of it all…finally!

    Nell

  3. Kathryn
    September 5, 2008 | 3:01 pm

    I remember that day so clearly. Driving to work they actually interrupted the song that was playing to announce the plane hitting. Then as I opened the bank I turned the radio on and heard of the second plane. We were all shocked.
    The bank was pretty much silent all day. I don’t think we had more than 10 customers. Everyone was glued to the television.

    I can’t believe that was 7 years ago already.

  4. Susan (5 Minutes for Mom)
    September 5, 2008 | 3:08 pm

    I remember that day so clearly… I woke up to my radio saying “a plane has just hit the World Trade Center” and I was like “what???” and I ran to the TV. (I’m in the Pacific time zone.)

    I wish I were able to vote in the US. (I’m a Canadian.)

  5. Candace
    September 5, 2008 | 4:10 pm

    i remember i was a senior in high school. We all watched on tv all day in our classes. At first we though no big deal and than it went to 2 planes hitting the trade center. It really hit home then.

  6. Reading this post gave me chills, something that doesn’t happen often to me.

    You’re right – that was a life-changing few days, or weeks.

    I remember feeling so scared. So fearful of what would happen next, and when.

    I remember going to football games that fall, in a stadium with 90,000 people, and all I could do was stare at the sky, scared to death that they would realize how many people were in one place and choose us as their next target.

    Thanks for the reminder. The sobriety that comes with reliving that tragedy.

  7. To Think Is To Create
    September 5, 2008 | 9:34 pm

    I think not a single person will forget “where they were” on that day. I went years where I’d forget and live in a “September 10th” bubble. Now, I think of it often. I almost wish I was able to forget.

    I don’t know who I’m voting for either. I’ve found that it makes people pretty uncomfortable that I feel that way.

  8. Kelly
    September 6, 2008 | 11:25 pm

    My first baby was born just six weeks before September 11. I remember cradling her on our pull-out sofa, wondering if the world she just entered was going to end in a matter of hours.

    Wonderful, evocative post, Stephanie. No one will ever forget that day.

  9. Susan
    September 11, 2008 | 10:32 am

    My anniversary is today Sept. 11th. At first I was mad- How can this ruin my special day. But now I am glad I share this day, it reminds me that life goes on- to treasure every moment.

  10. Kim
    September 11, 2008 | 2:37 pm

    The television footage is very vivid in my mind, but I watched so much of it day and night. Even at my office they allowed me to work from the conference room where the TV was so I could possibly hear word of how or where the USS Carl Vinson was, because my husband was on deployment out there.

  11. autumn
    September 11, 2008 | 3:51 pm

    I still get that twinge everytime I think about that day. I don’t know that it will ever go away.

  12. Erin
    September 11, 2008 | 7:38 pm

    I was in Speech class my sophomore year at IU when it happened. I remember walking from class back to my dorm. I noticed how beautiful the weather was that day, and I also remember being confused at how there was no one out on campus. Sure, it was morning, but usually the sidewalks were crowded. It wasn’t until I walked back into my dorm that I understood. I remember driving home that weekend, past the Indianapolis airport, and slowing down as I realized that there were no planes flying in or out, it was just at a huge standstill.

    I think it’s neat that you’re still undecided politically. I’ve been pretty solidly Obama from the start, but for those who are still deciding, the next few months should be interesting!

  13. Viagra.
    October 29, 2008 | 7:44 pm

    Viagra….

    Viagra….

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