September 11

I used to roll my eyes when my parents or grandparents would start the stories of "I remember where I was and what I was doing when I heard the news....." Pearl Harbor, the end of World War II, Kennedy being shot, Elvis dying. You get the picture. This is going to be one of those days for my kids.

I remember that morning as clearly as I remember my weddng day and the birth of my daughter. John & I had been married for just over 9 months, we lived down near Savannah, Georgia, he was halfway through his first deployment. And I was looking forward to my birthday, I was 11 days from turning 23.

For some reason I was off work that Tuesday morning. I was sitting on th couch, listening to the radio and cross stitching an ornament for our Christmas tree. I remember the hosts of the morning show breaking away from the topic at hand. The first plane had hit and news footage was starting to come in amoungst all the confusion. I turned on CNN and watched as the second plane crashed. I set my last stitch in that Christmas ornament as I watched. I stayed glued to CNN for the next few hours, praying that it wasnt what it looked like as they bouncd between New York, DC and a field in Pennsylvania. I remember being back at work several days later (I worked out near the Savannah Airport) they had just started allowing planes to fly again. A plane flew over my office coming into land at the airport,we all stopped working and just stared up toward the sky. A sound that went largely unnoticed a week before now had the power to hold us spellbound.

I still have the ornament. On the back is a piece of masking tape saying why its special. I can even show you which was the final stitch I made that day. That ornament hangs on front and center on the tree every year, I feel like it belongs in a place of honor.