Gone, but never forgotten

[cattiechaos]

It's just a little past midnight on 9/11. It is very quiet because everyone is asleep, except my thoughts are loud. When I wake up in the morning I will attend my baby cousin's birthday party - he is turning one. He was not actually born today, but my aunt and uncle chose this day to have the party. At first, I was irked, but then I thought: What better way to honor the victims of 9/11 than by celebrating life and all its joys? Maybe they would want to be remembered in happiness and love than in sorrow. And I will get to see most of my family tomorrow, so that is a good thing. To ignore joy while it lasts in favor of lamenting tragedy is a sad waste of time. I don't know why, but yesterday was the first time I saw any of the actual footage from 9/11, and the tribute videos as well. My heart cries for every human being that was affected on this day ten years ago...Watching the footage, the tribute videos, hearing recordings of actual phone calls made on passengers on Flight 93 to their families, is one of the most surreal and tragic things I have ever experienced. So as a nation, we remember, and we mourn, and we honor the victims.

United Airlines Flight 93
American Airlines Flight 11
American Airlines Flight 77
United Airlines Flight 175
World Trade Center, New York
Pentagon, Arlington, Virginia

"We move on...but it stays with us."