Monday morning - the start of a new week and getting back into the weekly routine. Get dressed, gather laundry, make the beds, get the boys up and moving, make breakfast so that we can leave by 8am to get to the bus stop, etc. I planned on walking after Jeter was off to school since the weather was - well not nice but still ok for a walk outside - so appropriate planning had to be made for that as well.
While walking my mind went through my list of "to dos" for the day and then settled on the significance of this particular Monday. 9/11. That's where my lists halted and there was just a moment for rememberence.
Those of you who know my Dad would agree that he is a storyteller and if you take the time to listen, there are a number of wonderful nuggets within the tale. You may also know that if you miss one, the story will probably be told again and you can pick it (the nugget) up then. LOL. One story was the moment that JFK was shot - it seems that everyone in his generation can tell you exactly where they were and how it consumed them - the moment they learned of this tragic news. I believe that 9/11 is that for my generation. This serves as documentation of my memory.
I had returned to work August 2001 after Jeter's birth. My sophomores were completing "Bubbleology" - a lab to demonstrate the importance of the scientific method. I walked to my desk to get something and saw an email that I initially believed was spam - the title said something about the twin towers being under attack. Was this a new kind of virus? Upon further investigation I learned that this was not a joke - this was real and was happening right now. Every classroom had a tv in it. Many teachers used this as a learning opportunity. I informed my students of what was happening. I was not surprised by their interest in learning more and yet not fully understanding the impact this would have on our lives. Did any of us really know the answer to that? I turned on the news. They had the option to watch and/or complete the lab write-up (I post-poned the due date). I wanted to be sensitive to their needs but I also needed to see what was happening. NYC was close to where JC and I grew up. My sister also taught at the school. We connected asap. We prayed. I didn't know where family was at the time. Was Simms' dad in the city for business? How about my dad? My cousins? Our friends? We watched in horror as the first tower collapsed. How can this be happening?!? The only word that seemed to fit was "surreal". As time creeped by we learned about The Pentagon and the flight in Pennsylvania. When was it going to stop? It finally did - or so it seemed. Now, I could take a philosophical turn here...not today.
Be Thankful. How does "being thankful" fit with today? On that day, five years ago, I was very thankful that although Dad C normally had business there that day - plans had been miraculously changed. My cousins were safe. My Dad was not in the city. We may have been bruised emotionally but we were not destroyed.
Today I am thankful for the men and women who put their lives on the line for our country and the safety of its citizens.
Today I am thankful for a family that is filled with unconditional love. Where friendship has crossed the lines and we are close because we want to be not because of some sense of obligation.
Today I am thankful for my boys - the miracles that they are. I am so blessed to be their mommy - to have the opportunity to watch and participate as they grow and mature into the men that God has called and created them to be.
Today I am thankful for the friendships and relationships that God has placed in my life "for such a time as this".
Today I am thankful that no matter what the circumstances of this world, I am safe in the arms of my Heavenly Father. It is His PEACE that enables me to release those I love and not hold on too tight. It is his COMFORT and SECURITY that allows me to smile as I watch Jeter be transported on a school bus to a school where being a Christian is not "cool" and he is asked at the young age of 5 to be "salt in the earth". FAITH is not always easy and it doesn't come naturally - it is a choice and I daily choose to TRUST Him because He is the WAY, the TRUTH and the LIFE.
It is for these reasons that on this day I can take time to remember and be thankful.
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Campbell Crew
The Campbell Corner was started in 2006. I've journaled for decades but this was the first time that I did it on-line and allowed othe...
2 comments:
I was thinking about 9/11 yesterday and also today. This morning while I was nursing my little towhead, I was thinking about what I was going to do today and also paused to pray for those that had friends and family members taken from the earth that day.
I was so thankful to be teaching in the same school as you then - right across the hall and that we were able to pray together.
I am thankful for the family that the Lord has given to me!
That was a long day. I remember being at camp the night before watching the movie "6 Days" about the Cuban missle crisis and commenting about what would happen if something like that were to happen in this age. The next morning JJ Krachtus and I drove down to Westwood and as we came up and over the hump on Rt 17 in Ramapo I could see the NYC skyline and made the comment "NYC, just like I pictured it" which was a reference to a Jimi Hendrix line. We arrived at the Krachtus restaurant and started to have breakfast before going to work. the phone rang and it was Daphnie saying a small plane had hit the building and she would call back in a little while. JJ had a undred questions for her, as they didn't have a TV in the restaurant. We got off the phone drove to the work site and setup our job site and then turned on the radio. It seems a lot had changed in that 20 minutes
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