Doreen, thank you. ❤ There's so much in this post that moves me. Of course, we each have our stories of the day. I was teaching school in Toronto. My daughter was eleven, and I was a year out of my marriage. The song you shared (which I just played) brought me right back to that time. Deciding to meet with writer friends, regardless of the state of the world. Our need for human connection. I'm thinking of you.
Thank you Robin for reading and sharing your memory of that day. I almost didn't want to write this piece feeling that my small memories are insignificant compared to others who lost so much more. I have to remind myself that all of our stories, memories, feelings are valid and there is good that comes from sharing them.
Thanks for sharing. I happened to be sitting in front of the TV with the news on nursing my 3-month old son when word came in about the first tower. At that point, all eyes were on the situation so I watched the second plane hit the south tower live in disbelief. I thought to myself, what kind of world am I bringing a child into? I would have a student years later whose father was killed that day. She was just 2 when he died. I would also meet a French man and his wife years later in France who had just moved to NYC to start a business the week before and had a beautiful new apartment in the financial district. They were told they were ok to stay. But that wasn’t true. It didn’t take long before they both got sick but the man became chronically ill with cancer that he had gotten through but was confined to a wheelchair with oxygen tanks for the rest of his life. Perspective.
Thank you for sharing that with me, Sarah. Everyone, it seems, has a story to tell about that day, and I think it's important to share them, even now, all these years later.
Thank you for sharing your experience of that dreadful day. While I have many memories from that day, there are two that are the strongest.
When the second plane hit the tower, I was at the Honda dealership waiting room and saw it in real time. I remember gasping, covering my face with both my hands and collapsing into myself as I sobbed and felt overwhelmed with feelings.
The second vivid memory was me sitting on the sofa holding Justin. Justin was born 8/19/2001 so he was about three weeks old. We moved into our house on August 18, 2001--I know crazy, right?? I remember looking down at him, with tears rolling down my cheeks, and feeling sad and scared. I wanted to go back to my old house, where I felt comfortable and safe. We hadn't even closed on that house yet. The "new" house was an old house and needed all sorts of work. The feeling of hopelessness consumed me--for our world, the lives lost, our lives, for me, my situation and my family. All I wanted to do was "go home."
You mentioned the sky that day. Years later, there was a woman I helped in a great time of need, and more than once, she has referred to me as her blue sky on 9/11. Reading you post reminded me of that too and I'm grateful to remember my generous heart and her gratitude.
And one more thing, I was asked this week to create a Superhero's yoga plan for an after school program. I smiled at the Superman reference as I felt the Universe wink at me.
Thank you Tanya, for sharing your vivid memories and feelings about that day. I can't imagine having a newborn and then having this tragedy unfold at the same time as moving into a new house. That's a lot. I'm glad the Superman song resonated with you as a positive sign from the Universe. xo
Doreen, thank you. ❤ There's so much in this post that moves me. Of course, we each have our stories of the day. I was teaching school in Toronto. My daughter was eleven, and I was a year out of my marriage. The song you shared (which I just played) brought me right back to that time. Deciding to meet with writer friends, regardless of the state of the world. Our need for human connection. I'm thinking of you.
Thank you Robin for reading and sharing your memory of that day. I almost didn't want to write this piece feeling that my small memories are insignificant compared to others who lost so much more. I have to remind myself that all of our stories, memories, feelings are valid and there is good that comes from sharing them.
❤️❤️❤️
Thanks for sharing. I happened to be sitting in front of the TV with the news on nursing my 3-month old son when word came in about the first tower. At that point, all eyes were on the situation so I watched the second plane hit the south tower live in disbelief. I thought to myself, what kind of world am I bringing a child into? I would have a student years later whose father was killed that day. She was just 2 when he died. I would also meet a French man and his wife years later in France who had just moved to NYC to start a business the week before and had a beautiful new apartment in the financial district. They were told they were ok to stay. But that wasn’t true. It didn’t take long before they both got sick but the man became chronically ill with cancer that he had gotten through but was confined to a wheelchair with oxygen tanks for the rest of his life. Perspective.
Thank you for sharing that with me, Sarah. Everyone, it seems, has a story to tell about that day, and I think it's important to share them, even now, all these years later.
Thank you for sharing your experience of that dreadful day. While I have many memories from that day, there are two that are the strongest.
When the second plane hit the tower, I was at the Honda dealership waiting room and saw it in real time. I remember gasping, covering my face with both my hands and collapsing into myself as I sobbed and felt overwhelmed with feelings.
The second vivid memory was me sitting on the sofa holding Justin. Justin was born 8/19/2001 so he was about three weeks old. We moved into our house on August 18, 2001--I know crazy, right?? I remember looking down at him, with tears rolling down my cheeks, and feeling sad and scared. I wanted to go back to my old house, where I felt comfortable and safe. We hadn't even closed on that house yet. The "new" house was an old house and needed all sorts of work. The feeling of hopelessness consumed me--for our world, the lives lost, our lives, for me, my situation and my family. All I wanted to do was "go home."
You mentioned the sky that day. Years later, there was a woman I helped in a great time of need, and more than once, she has referred to me as her blue sky on 9/11. Reading you post reminded me of that too and I'm grateful to remember my generous heart and her gratitude.
And one more thing, I was asked this week to create a Superhero's yoga plan for an after school program. I smiled at the Superman reference as I felt the Universe wink at me.
Thank you for sharing Doreen.
Thank you Tanya, for sharing your vivid memories and feelings about that day. I can't imagine having a newborn and then having this tragedy unfold at the same time as moving into a new house. That's a lot. I'm glad the Superman song resonated with you as a positive sign from the Universe. xo
I never felt that kind of fear in my life before and the week after was so surreal.
I don't remember the fear. I think I went numb but the song brings back the enormous sadness of the day.