9/11

9/11, what a terrible, terrible day that was. As we approach the 10th anniversary I can't help but reflect back on that day. It is my generation's, and others, Kennedy Assignation. We will always remember where we were and what we were doing. It is indelibly etched on our memories. I could live the rest of my life without seeing the horrible news footage of that day, unfortunately, television programming is full of documentaries about 9/11. The news stands are full of magazines showcasing the children of 9/11 and the news carries stories of terror plots still afoot. America is changed, we are changed. We will never again be those innocent, ignorant citizens again. We never thought something like that could happen on American soil, we had an oh so false sense of security. Now we know the horrible truth and we have to live with it. Anniversaries of 9/11 are unsettling because it isn't a holiday, no one wants to celebrate. Many bumper stickers, posters and t-shirts bear slogans of "We"ll never forget", and it is true, we won't ever forget. I wish I could forget though. I'd like to return to that innocence, I'd like to give that innocence back to my children. I'd like to assuage the fear I feel when I fly. How then to commemorate this anniversary? It is supposed to be a day of service or volunteering, but that just doesn't feel right to me. I feel lost. I remember feeling this way keenly on the first anniversary. I noticed many people felt similarly lost. We organized a family picnic at our school so that people wouldn't feel lost or alone on that day. They knew there were others who felt the same way they did. It worked for us, filled the emptiness we felt. This 9/11, I will reflect on those we lost and who sacrificed themselves so that other might be saved and hold my children just a little closer, knowing their world is different and more dangerous than the one I grew up in.