Monday, September 11, 2006

Memories


The weekend went off without any problems. My night of babysitting was good. Rylan decided to sleep until 4:00 a.m. and then woke ready to eat. He is definitely a morning baby. He woke up in a good mood, smiling and cooing. At 4:00 a.m.! He definitely doesn't take back after grandpa.

The rest of the weekend was kind of quiet. DJ worked Saturday and then we had a nice dinner and watched TV. Sunday was more of the same, watching TV, talking to my youngest brother who turned 37 on Sunday, and having a nice quiet dinner. We played some scrabble Sunday evening (I was beat twice, but only by one point the first game) and then some "Smallville" and off to bed.

Today being 9-11, I really don't want to watch the TV, and just don't want to relive all that horror, so I suppose I will clean house and job hunt.

I remember that day very vividly. I was at work and had went into the break room for some coffee and a couple of girls were in there saying that a plane had just hit the World Trade Center. Of course we thought at first it was just an accident but then as the dram began to unfold we realized this was not an accident. Within 15 minutes the break room was at full capacity and work came to a halt throughout the office. It was just so surreal.

Isn't it amazing how our minds seem to store those kind of events in our minds with perfect clarity? I also remember the day Elvis died. I was at the Ohio State Fair for the week with the Ohio State Choir and heard it on the news. The first thing I did was call my mother. She was an avid Elvis fan. We cried together.

Or the day that Bobby Kennedy was shot? I was outside on our front porch talking with a neighbor kid and mom came out and told us to come inside. We sat in front of the TV watching the events unfold. Or the day Martin Luther King was killed? I was at school and we were sent home early. I remember teachers crying as they loaded us onto the buses. We had no idea what was happening until we got home. Of course I was really too young to understand who he was and the importance of his work, but I do remember mom saying that it would never be the same now.

Those days that mark history, mark our minds with memories of tragedy and horror. But then I think about those that were there. I was safe at work that day in September, miles away from ground zero. But those that were there that lived through it, that suffered a loss of dreams and hopes that day. There memories will be much more real than mine were that day. The effect of those days events will forever be part of their lives too, but in a much more horrific sense than I could even begin to imagine.

Memories.
My first weekend with my grandson. I prefer those kind of long lasting memories in my heart and mind. But we also have to remember those events in our lives that were not so pleasant to understand what life is all about.

Our heart goes out to those that lost loved ones that day. As all our lives changed after 9-11, their lives were shattered.

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