The TV has been on today...just filling the room with background noise. I couldn't help but notice that the recurring theme this past week or so, understandably, has been reflecting on 9/11. Today has been no exception; the focus seems to be rehashing every image and news release. I find that I usually agree with the idea that we shouldn't sugar coat the events that happened. How can you make the images or feelings the victims experienced "better"? This is the reality. The families don't have the option of a censored memory; why should we then, as Americans, expect the same?
For any red-blooded American, this time of the year is a time of reflection; the common question heard is "where were you on 9/11?" Well, I was pregnant with Jax, almost ready to deliver him. At work that morning, I heard everything unfolding on the radio, and reading the news stories developing on the Internet. Scared, as any new mom would be, in a world of uncertainty. Here I was, about to bring a brand new life into a world where people crash planes into buildings and hijacks planes in order to cause mass destruction. I remember laying awake that night~I was 7 plus months pregnant and wasn't sleeping anyways~and the fear was eating at my mind. How on earth was I going to teach my son how to love and accept others all the while the world is crumbling around us, driven by evil and hatred? The images plagued my mind for many months afterwards, but I couldn't tear myself away from the news stories. So many questions remained unanswered; so many people were hurting. The saga played out day after day, month after month. When the war began, it just added more uncertainty to raising a son in these times. Knowing the unstable nature of the world and all the recent events tainted my views on the future and the good in people.
But people are resilient. They move on. Heal and grow. Learn from circumstances and become better and more than they were before the moments their lives changed. Even the people in the Midwest who weren't directly affected moved on. Other stories took precedence. The war took center stage in the national media, and in the name of healing the American people chose to go about their lives...changed. Airlines saw their passenger numbers return, and people had the confidence in our own safety that was, for a time, shattered. Now, it seems, it's just the yearly anniversary where we all vow to "never forget".
The most shocking part of all of this, however, came during a conversation I had with Jax the other day. After saying something about 9/11, he looked up and said "What's 9/11"? Needless to say, I was shocked. Not at the lack of involvement at the school level; that's not necessarily their responsibility. Jax got to watch age appropriate videos and see pictures of what happened that day. He had questions, and I got to tell him the story of "Where were you on 9/11"?
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