Memorial Day

Last night I was watching the history channel and was engrossed in this show called "Inside 9-11"...It was a really intense, minute by minute replay of the events of Sept. 11th. It's weird, but alot of it was new to me. I even cried hearing it all again. I remember when my sister was moving to Virginia, I was sitting out by our hotel pool one night when a man came and started talking to me. It wasn't long after the horrible event had taken place and he had been one of the volunteers who first arrived to clean up. It was horrible and eerie to hear first hand the gruesome and sad situation that he and so many others had to deal with. He spoke to me for hours about it...almost like a therapy session. I just listened in awe at his story, and then I sort of forgot about it, until last night. It all became so real to me again. It is so easy to separate myself from it and the resulting wars across the sea, but yet--how can I ignore it? I remember as if it were yesterday getting ready for my first day of college at WSU, September 11, 2001. I was listening to the news as I always did while I put on my makeup and did my hair, when suddenly the broadcast was broken in with the urgent footage of the first plane strike. Of course time suddenly stood still. I didn't worry about being late to my first class--I was transfixed by the television screen. And, as my mom and I watched in shock, the live footage was made all the more shocking with the second plane crash. As we all know, the world changed that day. It is interesting, though...how much is still the same for so many of us. And I attribute that to the brave people who have and are fighting to keep our country safe for us. I grew up feeling safe, and I still generally feel safe...I pray it can stay that way.
And so, this Memorial Day I have been reflecting on how often I take for granted the sacrifices so many people have made to make this country as safe as it is. I am grateful to live in a country where we can go and do as we please...like have picnics with our families and go boating and eat exorbitant amounts of food--which is what we did today! But seriously, I can't really express how I feel except to say that I hope our country can hold itself together so that my sweet boys can grow up with many, many sweet memories like the ones we made today.