Thursday, September 11, 2008

what i remember...

it was a quiet, sunny morning. i was sleeping peacefully in my bed, exhausted as my body was working furiously to grow a baby. i was sleeping in because i didn't have to work until later in the morning, purposely scheduled, by me, for this very reason of sleeping in.

 

i was jolted awake by the ringing telephone.  blindly, i reached for the phone. then, looking at the caller i.d. i was irritated at my husband for calling me so early in the morning knowing full well that i would be sleeping. i considered not answering, but quickly decided against it.

 

"hello!" was my short, irritated answer.

 

"are you listening to the radio? (we have no t.v.)", came the reply.

 

i was thinking, very annoyed like, 'no! why would i be listening to the radio? i was sleeping!' but all i said was, "no."

 

"turn on the radio. a plane just crashed into the world trade center!"

 

still not comprehending or realizing the gravity of the situation, still only caring about getting back to my dreamy sleep, i said, "i was sleeping! i'm tired, i'll turn it on later."

 

after much persuasion, i said i would turn it on, mostly just to placate my husband so i could get off the phone and get back to sleep. i hung up and rolled back onto my pillow ready for sleep, but for some reason sleep did not come, so i went to the radio.

 

the rest, was just an unbelievable blur. i couldn't comprehend what was going on or why. why was this happening? once i realized what was really happening, i went from awe struck, to disbelief, to disgusted, to anger, to hatred, to indescribable sadness. disbelief that it happened, disgust for the people who did it, angry at them for doing it, hating them for not caring, and so much sadness for the thousands of innocent lives and families that were directly affected by the events of that day.

 

though it's been seven years, it is something that i will never forget, as much as i would love to forget it, i will never be able to. that day changed all of our lives. maybe we didn't lose a loved one in the attack, or maybe we did. maybe we have a loved one fighting to preserve our freedoms on the other side of the world, or maybe we don't. but one thing i do know, we all enjoy the freedoms that we have here in the united states. we must never forget how blessed we are and we must do whatever we can to protect and maintain those freedoms.

 

it is a sad day to remember, but we must never forget.

11 comments:

Becca said...

Isn't crazy how we remember exactly what we were doing at the moment we learned of this tragedy. My Dad was the one that called me. I was 9 months pregnant with Emi and Grace and I sat on the couch at Farmington oaks apartments and watched the footage the entire day. SO SAD!! Even SADDER, I think today came and went without many people thinking of that day

Sarah said...

I agree. I wish the rest of our country felt that way too. My baby brother is serving his second tour in Iraq. I'm so glad to be an american!

Teresa said...

I was at my mom's house in Utah visiting. I was newly engaged to Tyler. My mom and a sister came and woke me up and told me that a plane crashed into one of the towers. It was devastating and unbelievable. The rest of the day unfolded the way it did with the other tower being hit and the other planes crashing. We were all in disbelief. There were lots and lots of tears...

I'm so thankful to all the men and women who serve our country to ensure we have the freedoms that we do and to do their best at preventing evil like this in the world.

I too will never forget that day. I can't believe it's already been seven years!

Bridget said...

I was watching the news at the gym while on the treadmill. Nathan was EQ pres. at the time and he had to call everyone in his quorum to make sure they were OK. We had a lot of people in our ward who commuted regularly to NYC. Turned out a friend of ours in the ward had a brother who was on the first plane. So sad.

Amanda D said...

beautiful post, mahina! You will be so glad that you have your memories written down. Your children will be able to know what you remember and that is great.

Elizabeth Dimit said...

That was a beautiful post! And it's eerie how similar our stories are. I was sleeping in and was pregnant, too, when Lester woke me up to tell me what was happening. I was in a fog, and didn't quite absorb what was happening. It was a scary day, and how sad that we quickly forget what happened that day.

Melissa-Mc said...

I was on my way to 24 hour fitness (the one where you used to work).

Devri said...

Wow, each time I visit your blog, I am amazed, your writing is beautiful, and I love your photos. How in the world did you do a custom font on here. love it.

tutu lady said...

Well said! I was watching the whole terrible thing in the exercise room at work. None of us there could believe it.

kelly said...

i still can't believe it was just 7 years ago.

Michal said...

i was pregnant and sleeping in, too, and my husband came in to wake me up. i spent the rest of the day in shock, dazed, frightened, and holding my 1 1/2 year old close to me.
this year on sept. 11th i sat my kids down and told them about what happened. we talked about it a lot, and even though it troubled them, it felt good to be sharing this piece of (recent) history with them. we hung our flag out front and said the pledge of allegiance and sang the national anthem. it felt good (and sad) to remember.