I thought after 18 years this day would not impact me as much as it does. I thought it was Tuesday today because it was Tuesday 18 years ago. I remembered the beautiful bright blue skies and white puffy clouds. And I remember the terror and fear watching on TV what was happening. I was a sophomore in college, sitting in Spanish class when the first plane hit the tower. I was in a history class when the professor stated, "I guess you've all heard by now about the plane hitting the World Trade Center." I thought he was talking about a small bi-plane getting stuck in the weather equipment on the top of the tower. I had no idea. After class, I went back to my dorm room and found my roommate with the TV on, two very strange occurrences. My roommate was never in during the day and she never put the TV on. "Are you seeing this?" she asked incredulously. I thought it was a movie, as I stared unblinking at the two towers with flames and black smoke billowing into the azure sky. Before I could grasp what was happening, the tower came crashing down.
On the radio this morning driving into work, they talked about an article from the Atlantic about how mundane decisions made a world of difference on 9/11. I've been dwelling on it all day, how these random decisions, made without any understanding, changed the course of someone's life, literally life or death. How often do we make decisions that might have such a drastic outcome?
On the ride home tonight, the little ones and I talked about why they had a moment of silence at 8:46 this morning. I told them, in an age appropriate way, what I remembered. And I told them, the best thing we can do it to never forget. I know I never will.
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