There are so many stories from September 11, 2001. People who were spared. Thousands of others who were not.
There were loads of memories of that day that flooded me yesterday as I remembered... No, I haven't forgotten. Nor will I.
I was supposed to be in NYC that day at a client. We'd moved into our first house that summer and the dryer vent was loused up. The builder FINALLY (after some 'persuasion') agreed to fix it... that morning... so I was delayed in leaving. The man who came to fix it, and I, sat on the sofa watching the horror unfold all the while I was on and off the phone with Stephen .... He was at our office in Tinton Falls, NJ. A mere 40 miles from the attacks.
There were so many in our little town of Easton, PA that were affected. We lived in a 'suburb' for a lot of people that worked in 'The City'.
It took Stephen a long long time to get home that day/night. But he did get home.
At the time, Stephen and I both traveled for a living... Always on airplanes. Most of the time leaving out of Newark. Flying in the weeks after the attacks was a totally different ball game. I remember leaving on my first trip after 9/11 and just crying at the airport. I didn't want to get on a plane. I didn't want to be in that airport. I didn't want to go. At the time I was on anywhere between 6-8 flights a week. It was what I did. I traveled. A lot! And then... I.was.done! I didn't want to travel anymore. I didn't want Stephen to get back on a plane.
Yes, I let the fear get to me.
I let them win. For a bit.
But even through my feelings of please don't make me get back on a plane... I saw the good. I saw the kindness of strangers. The love that exists for others.
The pilots and flight attendants who you always knew were pretty incredible at their jobs... but who I now looked at with a whole new respect and admiration.
I received hugs the in airport as fellow business travelers saw my look of angst.
I gave the hugs to those that I saw mirroring my thoughts and feelings.
We talked about 'where we were' when we heard the news.
We talked about those we knew affected by the terror attacks.
We talked about the 'near misses' of that day.
We prayed together.
We talked.... We shared.... We prayed... We loved one another.
2,977 people died that day. At least a thousand more have died since then of health related issues that occurred from the work done at Ground Zero.
Today in a time when our country seems to be so divided... We need to be ever more mindful to talk. Love. Share. Pray.
I will never forget.
