Looking Back...and Forward.

I don't know if anyone took a moment today to think about the lives that were lost on September 11, 2001. There was a moment of silence observed in my class today, and while I said a prayer for the families of the victims of the attacks and for the service men and women that are currently engaged in fronts across the globe, I was moved to tears. I definitely wasn't the only one in that class room crying.

In my lifetime, there has never been something as "uniting" as this. Nothing like this has happened on U.S. soil. Its so heartbreaking, so gut-wrenching. Everyone has their own story of how it effected them. Where they were, what they saw on the tv, the emotions that they went through. It touched so many people, and it continues to touch people. I think that everyone holds their family a little bit closer when they think of the attacks. I think that people try to remember how precious their life really is. I hope that I find the strength to do that everyday. To appreciate the moments that life has to offer and the joy in the every day living.

When I think about September 11th, I also have a strange peace that comes over me. Its an odd one, and I'm not sure why I'm sharing, but I guess I am an open book. Ok, I know that I am. My mom died in January of 2001, and for whatever reason, I feel a sense of peace that she wasn't living to "go through" it. My mother would have had a very hard time with it and I'm sure she would have become very depressed. As much as I wish I could have hugged her close that day, and so many days since she died, I am glad that she was spared the pain of it. I just don't think she could have handled it. That is one thing I wish I hadn't "picked up" from my mother. The uncanny ability to internalize the world's pain. Its all fine and dandy, but it eats at you constantly and makes happiness seem like an unattainable goal.

Thank you to all those who are doing what they can to protect our freedoms. Whether War is the answer or not, I don't know. But I do know that those who are fighting for us deserve to be protected and safe, and I say my prayer every night for the men and women I know over there (LC, Dan, Miguel, and Cooksey) and the many that I don't. I hope you'll do the same.