I will never forget

On that day six years ago, I played a Baby Einstein video for Grace, instead of watching the Today Show like I normally did, so I could get ready to go to Bible study. Driving to church at 9:15, I heard an announcement over the radio that a plane had crashed into the World Trade Center in New York. For some reason I pictured a small charter plane that had accidentally lost its way, and I thought, oh how sad. Switching radio stations, I continued to hear bits and pieces of information on the crash, but couldn't understand what they were describing.

When I got to church, I went to Greg's office to talk to him about it. I walked back out to the Bible Study for a few minutes, and some of the ladies talked about a big fire at the WTC, and we prayed for the people involved. I remember feeling unsettled as they continued on with the Bible study like nothing was wrong. We really didn't understand how bad it was. A few minutes later, a man came in and said the Pentagon had been attacked. I ran back to Greg's office, and found he had set up a TV to watch the news coverage. I stood there breathless as I watched the video of the first tower falling. When the video cut to the second tower falling, my knees buckled. The only thing I could whisper was, "Oh, Dear God."

Gracie took her first steps that afternoon. She was 10 months old and oblivious to her parents' grief and shock. We videotaped her, smiling and giggling, toddling for the camera, with the voice of Peter Jennings in the background.

Like many Americans, I didn't personally know anyone who was killed in those attacks. I was hundreds of miles away from where the planes crashed. I can only speak from my experience, which is not first hand, but rather the experience of someone who watched it all unfold on television. But I still have vivid memories of the disbelief, the sadness, the fear, and the insecurity of knowing that our nation had been attacked. It had been so unthinkable before that day. I grieved with the family members who shared their stories in the following days. I also remember vividly the heartbreaking accounts of the firefighters who sacrificed their lives to save strangers. The workers who dug through the rubble, risking their health and lives to search for the lost. I remember American flags flying from every house on my street. I remember anticipating the President's speech that night, hanging on his every word, for the first time in my life.

My experiences of that day were not extraordinary. Millions of people probably have a story similar to mine. I think these stories are important to share. We walked through a time in our nation's history that had never happened before, and Lord, may it never happen again. So I wanted to have mine written down, so I could continue to remember it in the years to come. I hope I will never forget that day.