Today is the 10th anniversary of the tragedy that affected our country on so many levels. It is the day that 4 planes were taken hostage by a radical terrorist group and changed my life forever. I am sad that Libbi will not know how this impacted my life, that she will only know about this tragedy through TV specials and discussions in history class. I truly hope that her generation will NEVER see something like this and that the impact will always be something we talk about, not something she has to experience. I am sad that she doesn’t understand the significance of the pledge of allegiance each morning in school or that impact of the national anthem. I know that some of that responsibility lies on our shoulders as her parents and I want her to know how grateful I am to be an American. To have that knowledge and to know what it means. She informed me the other day that they do recite the pledge every morning, I’m so grateful for that. I think it is important for our children to celebrate our nation’s history each day. To remember what all of our soldiers and their families have sacrificed so that we have the right and opportunity to be free and to practice what we believe.
Libbi and I had a conversation last week about what 9/11 means and why it is so important. I was telling her the story about where I was and that day is still etched in my memories as if it were yesterday. For my own account, in the instance that this memory becomes less vivid for me, I want to know what happened to me that day.
On Tuesday morning of September 11, 2001, I was just getting into the routine of being a Senior. For some reason that morning as I got ready for school, I was not listening to the radio. I missed all the news reports and the information as it was happening. When I walked into my first period (Mrs. Ott’s chemistry class) I overheard some people talking about the first plane hitting the first tower. I was only briefly listening and I wasn’t processing the information. That day happened to be lab day and Mrs. Ott quickly put us in the lab to complete the assignment. About half way through the lab, Mrs. Ott came in to inform us that a second plane had just hit the second tower. She was visibly upset, but again, I was still trying to process what all this meant. She would not allow us out of the lab until our assignment was finished. This class ended and I made my way through the high school out to our portable classrooms for my sociology class. This is where the biggest impact to me came. I walked into that room and my sociology teacher was parked in front of his TV in a red chair. I don’t think he even took role that day; class wasn’t anything other than watching news reports and trying to process this information. I think we had a loose discussion about what this meant. I walked out of class in a daze and somehow made it to my psychology class. I don’t remember much about that day from there. I’m not even sure we talked about it at home as a family. I was 17 and self absorbed in my world and my routine. It took a few days for the full impact of what had happened to sink in and to be real to me. I remember that morning and I remember the disbelief that this was truly happening on our soil, in my home and the fear of being attacked. New York, DC and Pennsylvania seemed so far away, but my heart broke for the families that will be affected by this tragedy for the rest of their lives.
The greatest impact to me came a year or so later as a freshman at Utah State. When I had the opportunity to go to a memorial on the quad on the one year anniversary. To participate in that moment of silence. I remember having Family Home Evening in my front room in Logan. Where one of the young men, who happened to be part of the army was listening to a small radio, listening to see if his life would be affected by a deployment. He did end up being deployed during my sophomore year. This is when it became real to me. When I knew that this was not going to be something that the United States was going to let become something that happened. We would stand up and fight for our rights and our freedom.
This year, as I sat on the couch explaining to Libbi what 9/11 means and why it’s important, I had tears in my eyes. When I turned 18, my mom put together a book of letters to me. I don’t think she will ever know how much that book means to me. That’s a post for another day, the reason I mention it is because there is a portion of the letter my Grandpa Parrish wrote to me that I remember often. At 18, his future was decided for him. He would be drafted and sent across the sea to fight for my freedom and my rights. His words to me said, you are 18 and you have the opportunity to go and choose something different than I did. I can only imagine that the way I felt on 9/11/01 is similar to the way the United States felt on the morning of December 7, 1941. My Grandpa is my hero. He is loving and kind, full of inspiration and positivity. Even having been drafted and sent to fight, he is humble about his experiences, that he went to fight for his country and for the freedom I am still able to experience today.
With the attacks on 9/11, it sent many families into a direct effect of war and loss. I have seen families be affected and know many people that I graduated with that have accepted the call to serve our country and how their families are affected by their selfless act of service. I want them to know, how grateful I am to their willingness and their continued service to our country. I have close family who have been affected personally with deployments and military life. I can’t imagine how they do it, but I’m grateful for their strength.
As I’ve watched multiple things today about 9/11 and how it affected our life 10 years ago. I have been teary eyed as I see what has impacted the lives of many. I’m glad we have the 4th of July to celebrate our independence with celebrations and fun things. I’m grateful that September 11, is a somber day. A day of remembrance and a day of reflection. I’m proud to be an American and that these radical terrorist will never be able to take that away from me. I’m proud to be an American, where at least I know I’m free. And I’ll never forget the men and women, who will forever be heroes, who have given of their lives and their time to defend that right for me.
I will Learn to Forgive.
I will NEVER Forget.
Here is a funny Libbi story. Before we headed to Cowabunga Bay for an afternoon of fun, we stopped for some lunch at the original Utah In-n-Out. It happens to be in the same parking lot with a Sweet Tooth Fairy bakery. Well, we've had a lot of this going on at our house lately:
As we got back in the car to go to Cowabunga Bay, Libbi read the sign above the shop. She wasn't sure what it meant, so I asked her what she thought it was. Her response, "Well, I think it's a place where you go to get your tooth fairy something after she's picked up all your teeth. You know, like a gift."
