The question of “where were you” on 9/11 has come up a lot this week and my answer is different than most people’s, I was my honeymoon, as I had just gotten married. But I’m not really sure where you were matters, because we all felt 9/11 differently, but we all felt it. What I remember was feeling out of place. I couldn’t get in touch with my friends and family in NYC and DC. Should we come home? Is it okay to stay on our HONEYMOON when this just happened? Luckily, we had driven to our honeymoon because even before 9/11, I always hated to fly.
We spent that day, like most everyone, watching the tv coverage. And the next day, and the next day. At some point we went to the beach again, and drove to Williamsburg. We immersed ourselves in history, while history was being made. We came home and I started a new job, ironically, the same job I still have. There were anthrax reports. My friends in New York City were having a really hard time. I felt helpless. I caught a really bad stomach bug and had to go the hospital. I couldn’t stop shaking from the vomiting. The nurse told me I had “PTSD from 9/11.” I didn’t, but I couldn’t help wondering how many she saw that did.
The next year, in the Fall, DC was terrorized by snipers trying to kill us. Somehow Fall became associated with terror, something I think this area still feels.
I haven’t even begun to explain 9/11 to Michael yet, he is only 6 and I can’t even imagine processing that. But we were listening to the radio in the car on the way to the farmer’s market this morning, our favorite Sunday morning activity, and a news report came on about the war in Afghanistan and Michael said “why is there a war?” and I said “because sometimes our country fights wars.” Because I simply didn’t know what else to say.
I would never tell you to “remember” or “never forget” because how can we? We all felt it and experienced it differently but we all experienced it. And to this new generation of children that we are raising that doesn’t even know about it yet, what do we tell them? How do we make them understand the horribleness that was that day? No matter where you were?
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It is football day in our house, and M asked A about the ribbons on the fields and on the broadcasters. He sent her to me, and we all sat down and talked about it. We explained that there were people who didn’t like our country, and that they hurt and killed a lot of people. We talked about there being buildings that fell down, and how there were brave people who saved and tried to save people. We talked about how mommy lost a friend (really a former coworker, but friend is an easier way to explain it), and who he was, and what his favorite word was. We talked about people making a big deal out of it because they want to remember it because it was a big deal. She’s only four, but I think it was the right time for her. We told her when she’s older we’ll go visit where the buildings were. We told her when she’s older we’ll talk more about what the people who killed people believed and what we believe.
I don’t need anyone to tell me to remember, I don’t think I’ll ever forget.
I agree – it didn’t really matter where we all were. September 11 impacted all of us. Differently and the same.
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Great post. That day is etched on my brain like a brand. Seeing photos of the towers always punches me in the gut. My eyes never stop searching for them on the NYC skyline.
Great post. That day is etched on my brain like a brand. Seeing photos of the towers always punches me in the gut. My eyes never stop searching for them on the NYC skyline.
I was in bed asleep with the flu untell the early afternoon, untell the events were all over and just the news fear-factory was repeating events endlessly. 9/11 will always be the day democracy died to me. The day a horrable event was co-opted by even more horriably evil people to steal American freedoms and create yet another pointless & endless “war”. http://theprettypolitics.wordpress.com/2011/09/11/celebrate-911-an-orgy-of-glorifying-the-dead-and-revenge-seeking/