Thursday, September 11, 2008

MEMORIES AND THOUGHTS OF 9-11

Chris coming to pick Stephen up for work early that morning....HAVE YOU SEEN WHAT'S HAPPENING????..... Someone turns the TV on and I hear the commotion. I get up to go see what's going on. Standing on the stairs, frozen in time, watching the horror of the first attack on the World Trade Center.....WE HAVE BEEN ATTACKED!!!????.....DOES THIS MEAN WE ARE AT WAR????? ARE WE AT WAR?????.....Stunned and just standing on the stairs....Watching the horror unfold....Unable to move....Just watching and watching and watching.....DOES THIS MEAN WE ARE AT WAR?????.....Witnessing the second airplane hitting the second tower.....WHAT IS GOING ON?????.....Not wanting Stephen and Chris to go to work.....Wondering if I should send Kodi to school or not.....Just wanting my family around me.....The first tower goes down.....STUNNED AND SHOCKED.....WHAT IS GOING ON?????.....Then the second tower goes down.....HEARTACHE, FEAR.....WHAT IS GOING ON?????.....Do I send my child to school or do I keep her home with me? Maybe I should keep today as normal as possible....TOUCHED DEEPLY WHEN MY CHILD ASKS ME IF IT'S OKAY TO TAKE HER SCRIPTURES TO SCHOOL WITH HER IN HER BACKPACK TODAY.....OF COURSE IT'S OKAY TO TAKE THEM!!!!!.....I take her to school feeling that maybe the best thing for her is to see her friends, to feel with them what other kids are feeling this day.....Let her feel the "normal" feelings of her teachers, friends and surroundings as everyone pulls together to figure out what is happening to their world.....WAS IT A MISTAKE TO MAKE HER GO?????.....I GUESS IT COULD HAVE BEEN.....BUT THEN AGAIN - MAYBE IT WAS VERY OKAY TO ALLOW HER TO EXPERIENCE THIS DAY WITH HER FRIENDS.....We live under the flight path of a major airport.....All flights are cancelled until further notice.....All planes are grounded wherever the authorities can get them landed.....THE EMPTINESS OF THE SKIES.....THE QUIET IN THE AIR.....TOTALLY EERIE WHEN ONE IS SO USED TO HEARING THE PLANES TAKING OFF AND LANDING DAY AND NIGHT.....THE TOTAL QUIET OF THE SKIES.....Laying in bed way late at night and hearing a military plane from one of the air bases here in the Valley.....It's flying way up high keeping watch over us as we sleep.....COMFORT, APPRECIATION FOR THOSE WHO SERVE OUR COUNTRY AND TRY TO PROTECT US THE BEST THEY CAN.....
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Then.....THE PATRIOTISM EVERYWHERE!!!!! FLAGS FLYING, PEOPLE STANDING TOGETHER, MUSIC ABOUT OUR GREAT COUNTRY, GOD BLESS AMERICA, GOD BLESS THE USA.....WONDERFUL PATRIOTISM AS WE STAND AS ONE NATION UNDER GOD.....LOVING OUR LAND.....LOVING OUR PEOPLE.....RED, WHITE AND BLUE EVERYWHERE YOU LOOK!!!!! HOW I WISH WE COULD ALWAYS SEE AND FEEL THIS PATRIOTISM!!!!!
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But mostly.....GRATITUDE FOR A LOVING HEAVENLY FATHER WHO LOVES US AND PROTECTS US.....GRATITUDE THAT MY FAMILY MEMBERS WERE HERE.....and not in the Trade Center Towers, or the Pentagon, or on the plane in Pennsylvania.....GRATITUDE, GRATITUDE, GRATITUDE!!!
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Where were you? What did you feel? What do you feel now? Why did we let our patriotism fade away again? We say WE WILL NEVER FORGET!.....but where are our flags? Where is the music? What happened to the red, white and blue? Do we still stand as one? Or have we finally gone our separate ways? Have we forgotten?
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We are flying our flag today. The beautiful red, white and blue stars and stripes are dancing and swirling in the breeze just outside our front door as I write. And there it will stay while the weather is good. It will be lit by the porch light at night and warmed by the sun during the day. It will be a reminder that we love our country. We feel GRATEFUL to our Heavenly Father for our free land and the freedoms we are so richly blessed with. Remember GRATITUDE. ALWAYS AND FOREVER!! We are a choice people living in a choice land. FOREVER BE GRATEFUL FOR THAT! NEVER FORGET!! Always.....Remember.....And be Thankful.
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Simple Pleasure for today: The freedom to fly our flag and feeling gratitude for my blessings.

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