When you think about time and really put it into prospective, it is a lot like water. It is so lose and fluid. Like the ocean, time is uncontainable. We can’t own it; time is unstoppable. We try to capture it in snapshots and rely upon our memories for instant replays of it. But, do we even really own our memories? For they too, begin to leave us in bits and pieces as we grow. Yet, there are some things we’ll never forget, for the tragedy and pain of them are etched not just into our minds, but they are branded into our souls.
Ten years. Ten years have passed since the tragic events of 9/11. Where were you and what were were you doing on this day back then? If you were alive and old enough on this day, you can most likely recount it as if only a day ago. I will never forget that day.
I had taken the day off from work due to being sick. The most comfortable spot for me at that time was on the floor with pillows and a pallet of blankets. I lay there, flipping through the t.v. channels. I landed on a station and thought it was a horrible movie. I flipped again...it was on that channel too. I couldn't believe what I was seeing. In the course of a few minutes, I went back and forth between NBC and CNN. I changed it back to NBC’s Today Show and suddenly, the second plane hit. I gasped.....cried…prayed for all those who I knew perished. I prayed for their loved ones and instantly grabbed the phone to begin calling mine.
I wasn’t even there, but I felt so much pain, confusion, fear and anger that day. I recount it as a live nightmare unfolding in front of me. I can’t even begin to fathom what it must have been like and still be like for those directly affected by this. For the weeks, months, and the years to follow, our country has teetered back and forth trying to find a way back to “normalcy” while protecting our way of life, our freedom and sense of peace.
A few months before this tragic day, I began working for a special resource center at a bank in Columbus, OH. Our office was on the 21st floor and I remember a week after 9/11 being forced to evacuate due to a mysterious, ticking package discovered in the mail room. As we scurried down the 21 flights of stairs, there was panic, there was crying. It seemed like we were going down those steps for the longest time and every step I took was surreal.
For a split second, I thought “what if we’re next?” Then, my thoughts shifted. I began to think about what it must have been like for those on their way down the stair wells of the Trade Center Towers. I cannot even imagine how terrifying that must have been. Going down those steps, not knowing what exactly just happened. Knowing the whole time that you could die at any minute. Smoke billowing and filling their lungs, extreme heat from all directions…no clear path and the feeling of despair settling into their hearts….
It turned out that the unlabeled package in our building was a clock. We were grateful and called our loved ones via cell with updates. Still, everyone was on edge considering what our nation had recently gone through.
Today, the tears still well up in my eyes and stream down my face as if I am seeing it for the first time. Rest in peace to all of those lost on this tragic, heart ripping, gut wrenching day. Continued prayers for those lives so tragically and violently snatched away, for the survivors, the heroes (recognized and unsung), the families, those that were not yet born but perished along with their mothers on this day. We will never forget as a nation. The world will never forget. God hasn’t forgotten nor has He forsaken any of us. Our nation must strive to be compassionate not just in times of tragedy, but at all times.
Time…it does not stand still. We do not own the rights to it. It should not take a tragic event or a ticking clock in a box to jolt living. We must get all out of what little time we have while we are here on this earth.
Thank you for your time…remember it is a precious gift. Be blessed.
~Make IT Work
