464 Ten Years Ago... (my story)

We worked evenings, everyone knew we slept late, so why was my phone ringing so early in the morning?

Caller ID ... Why is my mom calling so early?! I wanted to ignore it, but I reached over and groggily answered the phone. She told me to turn on the tv, that a plane had struck the World Trade Center. And as I watched, I saw another plane ... Oh my God... I woke up Chip to watch with me. Tears streamed down my face, my heart seemed to beat slower. I cupped my hands over my abdomen, protecting the little life inside. We hadn't announced it yet, but we were pregnant with Katie. As the day unfolded my hand rarely moved from her. As it became more and more clear that our world had just changed I wanted to keep her safe.

People tried to go on with their daily lives. I had a bowling lesson (yeah, I took lessons, and I was pretty damn good) and I went. I remember driving down the road, looking over and seeing the same look of shock/sadness/fear on everyone's faces. No one was speeding, it was the most surreal experience as everyone just puttered along, their minds elsewhere. I told my bowling buddy that day that I was pregnant. I hadn't planned to tell her, but I needed to...needed that reminder of happiness and the future.

All of our lives changed that day. Forever. Not just for the weeks we didn't hear a plane overhead (and we live in a flightpath, so THAT was eerie). Not just those in New York, or the Northeast, or even just those in America. The world changed.
We will never forget the lives we lost that day. We will never forget the courage of those who ran to help. We will never forget that the very freedom that makes America so great also makes us a target...a vulnerable target, but we will be vigilant, we will be strong. We will not let this break us.

We will never forget.