A combination of memories...
Living in the US, we are honoring the 10th Anniversary of 9/11. My memories are tied to 9/11 for a different reason. September 11, 2001 was my Mom's birthday. She died March 18,2002.
Of course, any post about 9/11 would start with a "Where were you..." moment. I remember where I was, and this week I was talking about it with The Teenager. The Teenager is 15, she was 5 when the attacks occurred. All she knows is she went to pre-school that day, but she doesn't remember anything of that day or the days after. For her, it's something she has learned from us and from her teachers in class. I never felt like our generations were so far apart, but an event that affected us she only knows as history. I wonder what I will say when the younger cousins (8,5, and 8 months) ask about that day as their teachers discuss it in class?
I was asleep when my Dad - who had been laid off by then - walked into my room and just simply said "A plane hit the World Trade Center." In one sift movement I woke up, grabbed the tv remote from my bedside table and was sitting cross-legged on the floor with my back against my bed, with the tv on, in time to watch the second plane hit the towers. Every television in the house was on a different news channel, watching as things unfolded. The phone was ringing off the hook as I was calling my friends at the campus newspaper, letting them know what was happening. From the beginning, it felt "different", you knew this would be life-changing.
I was giving the girls at the newspaper a report on events so they could update the campus when the second tower fell. Mom and I watched the first tower fall, standing next to each other, watching it on the television in the kitchen. When the first tower fell, it dawned on us that no one knew where my cousin was. My cousin worked for the Board of Trade in Chicago at the time, as a senior auditor. He was constantly commuting between Chicago and New York, auditing the major companies. About an hour later we found out he was safe in Grant park. He called his older sister as he waited. They had evacuated the Board of Trade, and all the other skyscrapers in downtown Chicago, waiting for the other shoe to fall. The evacuees were assembled in Grant park waiting for CTA buses to get them out of the area. The CTA added extra buses and transportation to get people out of downtown. About a week earlier, my cousin had been in the Towers, working with one of the companies.
Then came the time to worry about my friend's brother who worked at the National Museum in DC, wondering what else would be hit. We worried about friends abroad, and family. I am so happy to say that everyone we knew that day was safe. I thank God, the Universe, and anything that will listen that our family has never lost someone so tragically.
My Mom was a community leader in Chicago - there is even a street named in her honor. That day she fielded calls from leaders, keeping people calm and focused. She went to work and kept things going. She started working with people who wanted to know what they could do. She kept things moving forward, she put others before herself. I learned from her. My second class of the day was cancelled by the professor. I was online calming people down, talking to them, finding locations of blood drives, etc.
That day was her birthday. After the tragedy of the morning I didn't see her until about 10:00 o'clock at night. She was late to dinner at her sister's house. It was just the two couples. Not the best of birthdays, but she was doing what needed to be done. And we knew there would always be next year - which was a five year birthday so it would be a biggie anyways.
Mom died March 18. Next year never came. I miss her so much. And I wonder what she would be doing now, how would she be keeping people focused on the community and life? How would she explain things to the next generation? The teenager was still 5 when my Mom died. She doesn't really remember her either.
My Mom (l) at work the year before she died. She didn't know I had taken the picture.
Of course, any post about 9/11 would start with a "Where were you..." moment. I remember where I was, and this week I was talking about it with The Teenager. The Teenager is 15, she was 5 when the attacks occurred. All she knows is she went to pre-school that day, but she doesn't remember anything of that day or the days after. For her, it's something she has learned from us and from her teachers in class. I never felt like our generations were so far apart, but an event that affected us she only knows as history. I wonder what I will say when the younger cousins (8,5, and 8 months) ask about that day as their teachers discuss it in class?
I was asleep when my Dad - who had been laid off by then - walked into my room and just simply said "A plane hit the World Trade Center." In one sift movement I woke up, grabbed the tv remote from my bedside table and was sitting cross-legged on the floor with my back against my bed, with the tv on, in time to watch the second plane hit the towers. Every television in the house was on a different news channel, watching as things unfolded. The phone was ringing off the hook as I was calling my friends at the campus newspaper, letting them know what was happening. From the beginning, it felt "different", you knew this would be life-changing.
I was giving the girls at the newspaper a report on events so they could update the campus when the second tower fell. Mom and I watched the first tower fall, standing next to each other, watching it on the television in the kitchen. When the first tower fell, it dawned on us that no one knew where my cousin was. My cousin worked for the Board of Trade in Chicago at the time, as a senior auditor. He was constantly commuting between Chicago and New York, auditing the major companies. About an hour later we found out he was safe in Grant park. He called his older sister as he waited. They had evacuated the Board of Trade, and all the other skyscrapers in downtown Chicago, waiting for the other shoe to fall. The evacuees were assembled in Grant park waiting for CTA buses to get them out of the area. The CTA added extra buses and transportation to get people out of downtown. About a week earlier, my cousin had been in the Towers, working with one of the companies.
Then came the time to worry about my friend's brother who worked at the National Museum in DC, wondering what else would be hit. We worried about friends abroad, and family. I am so happy to say that everyone we knew that day was safe. I thank God, the Universe, and anything that will listen that our family has never lost someone so tragically.
My Mom was a community leader in Chicago - there is even a street named in her honor. That day she fielded calls from leaders, keeping people calm and focused. She went to work and kept things going. She started working with people who wanted to know what they could do. She kept things moving forward, she put others before herself. I learned from her. My second class of the day was cancelled by the professor. I was online calming people down, talking to them, finding locations of blood drives, etc.
That day was her birthday. After the tragedy of the morning I didn't see her until about 10:00 o'clock at night. She was late to dinner at her sister's house. It was just the two couples. Not the best of birthdays, but she was doing what needed to be done. And we knew there would always be next year - which was a five year birthday so it would be a biggie anyways.
Mom died March 18. Next year never came. I miss her so much. And I wonder what she would be doing now, how would she be keeping people focused on the community and life? How would she explain things to the next generation? The teenager was still 5 when my Mom died. She doesn't really remember her either.
My Mom (l) at work the year before she died. She didn't know I had taken the picture.