Rising

I have debated for about a month if I wanted to write a post on 9/11. There are so many people whose stories need to be told and heard more than my small little story does. I was so young when the events occurred and I don't think my family even knew anyone in New York or Washington. So of course my inclination is to sit quietly in the background and read everyone else's stories. Which is what I've been doing for a good portion of the day, and all of these stories pull on my heartstrings. Several made me cry. And many, many warmed my heart and rekindled my hope for our country.

The people who risked their lives to save the lives of others, the firefighters and policemen and the people working in those buildings, will forever be my heroes. And the beautiful stories of those who died that day in the attacks will forever be etched into my memory. I can't imagine what it must feel like for a father to lose a son, a daughter to lose a mother. These people have such strength. They are rising again, the beauty coming from this terrible tragedy.

But I do feel the need to express some of my feelings about that terrible day and how our country has grown since then.

However, first, please read this post. I am amazed by Maureen. Her story made me cry. 9/11

I was only 8, so I don't remember much about that day. But I remember walking into my elementary school early, and all of the teachers (or so it seemed) were gathered around the TV in the music room, which immediately registered with me as odd. But I walked into my classroom and sat down. I don't remember how my teacher told us, but I remember watching the television and the replays of the attacks (Colorado was 2 hours behind, so I never saw them in real time). They released us early from school, I think because we were such a big military family school, and I remember riding the bus back onto the Academy with the few people who also lived there. I remember my sister and I were a little freaked, wondering if they were somehow going to attack Colorado Springs since we have NORAD and all of the military installations. I remember being worried because my dad was in the Air Force and even at a young age, I could sense that something big had happened. I didn't quite comprehend the magnitude of it on that first day, but I slowly came to. I remember my elementary school doing remembrance ceremonies on September 11th for the years after, I remember the day my dad left for Iraq and the day he came back, and of course I clearly remember learning Osama bin Laden was dead.

But my story seems so small compared to everyone else's. I was just a kid.

What really touches me every time I think of 9/11 is how courageous and gracious everyone was in the minutes, hours, months, years after the attacks. People from every walk of life came to New York or Washington to help with clean-up and recovery efforts. Thousands of firefighters risked their health in their effort to find remains to give families some closure. Everyone reached out a helping hand to those who had lost someone. Rather than having our country fall apart following the tragedy, we became, in most ways, more united.

Of course, as Maureen said, in later years our government would ruin that gracious spirit in many ways, but the point is that the terrorists didn't really succeed. They didn't destroy America. We do live in fear still, a lot of the time, but we're also rising. We have hope. We are resilient. We can rebuild.

I am forever amazed by the people who have made it their life's goal to create memorials, risking their own life and spending far too many overtime hours at work just to get these new towers built in memoriam of those who died.

And, in my humble opinion, the memorial is beautiful. It expresses the unity of America. It demonstrates the beauty of all the lives lost and all of the grace that poured out of hearts. September 11th was a tragedy, but I believe in some ways WE can also look at it as a victory, a victory over those who wish to destroy us.

"This tower will be a symbol of hope rising from a scene of tragedy."

We are rebuilding. We are rising.

Word of the Day: elegiac--related to the mourning or remembering of the dead