where were you when the world stopped turning?

i was in the bathroom. probably getting ready for the day- and putting off doing some sort of math homework. then Spencer came knocking on the door telling me mom wanted us all downstairs right away. being a hormonal preteen i yelled at him that i was busy and it would have to wait. after taking my time washing my hands and what not, i wandered downstairs. it was quite, except for the reporter on the TV.

i watched in horror, as my own Pearl Harbor happened. we watched as the second tower was hit and then the first tower fell. and i knew tons of people had died. i was so scared. i imagined my five brothers fighting somewhere across the world, in a country i had never really heard about. i didn't even know where Afghanistan was. i only knew that some horrible men had killed many people. i knew that our country was under attack. and i wanted to cry.

i did. but not until that night. i didn't want to be at war. i didn't want my brothers to be shot at. i didn't want to feel like i wasn't safe.

i remember feeling like i couldn't take anything for granted.

when you are 11 and your security is attacked, what do you do? i didn't understand what was going on. not really. i just knew that i loved America. i wished i could be in NYC or DC and help those people who needed it. i wanted to be there to hug the survivors- as well as those who lost a family member, coworker or friend in the attack.

i am grateful for the men and women who, on that fateful september day, stepped up to help save lives. i am sure there are many unsung heroes who will only be rewarded in the next life, because they did not live. i offer up a prayer for continued freedom and remembrance of the lives that were lost that day. we must never forget what happened on 9/11/01. let us hold on to our freedoms and fight to keep freedom free!