I'll Never Forget

It was a Tuesday.
It was a beautiful morning, sun shining, not a cloud in the sky, dew on the grass, a nice comfortable temperature….a great day for a walk. I put the dog on his leash and took my almost 4 yr olds hand. We loved our walks. While we walked I kept thinking about how beautiful the morning was. I started hearing sirens and thought nothing…these were common sounds on our walks. The sirens kept coming. Once we reach the park I don’t hear a break in the sirens. They are continuous…over and over and over…they come and come and come they keep coming. They don’t stop. It is eerie. A lady came out of her apartment, comes to me and says”2 planes just hit the World Trade Center.” I am in disbelief. I don’t believe her. It sounds too wrong… too unreal…I thought “No way that would never happen what is this crazy lady talking about?!” She points to the sky. There is big grey cloud…there were NO clouds in the sky that day…now that cloud was the only one and it would grow.

I forced my almost 4 yr old son to come home with me. He protested, I felt bad, but I needed to know, I needed some sort of proof…the lone cloud was not enough.

We get home, turn on the TV and there it was 2 towers, 2 plums of smoke rising from the towers. I am in shock and disbelief. I take my son up to the roof of our 6 floor high rise building. We are 7 miles from the towers…I can see them from up there…I need to see them with my own eyes…I don’t believe what I see on the TV screen.

“Oh my god! It IS real. I see it. Oh my god! What is going on? How is this happening? This is happening in front of me…I see this with my eyes.....”Mommy, what’s wrong?” I can’t answer him. I don’t know what to tell him…how to tell him. I don’t even know how to explain it to myself…I can’t wrap my brain around it…how can I explain it to my almost 4yr old? I can’t…I don’t know how.”

I had my camera with me. I took 2 photos…eerily I snapped the 2 right after the first tower fell…I did not realize until I had the roll developed what I captured. Right before I put my eye to the viewfinder to take the picture I could still see both towers…that is what I thought I was taking a picture of.

Today is a Tuesday…6 years ago that was my morning. It is forever etched in my brain and in my heart. My thoughts and love go out to all who lost a loved one that Tuesday 6 years ago today…

Robocop has this video on his Remembrance post... I hope you take the time to watch it...it is very moving...grab the Kleenex...go check out his post...He listed the casualties by name...