September 11th

This day will be forever ingrained into the memories of those who lived through this horrific event 10 years ago. I will not pretend to understand the feelings of those who were directly impacted that day either by the experience or the loss of a loved one. But, I do recognize how this day has impacted my own life.

This is the day that I first experienced watching many people die right before my eyes on the live broadcast as the 2nd plane hit the towers.

This is the day that I first felt intense hatred for someone I have never met before. The feeling was so strong that when they showed the footage of the terrosists in the airports, I felt sick to my stomach. I had nightmares for several weeks after where my worst fears had the faces of those men.

This is the first day that I truly understood how deeply I could love and feel pride in being an American.

This is the first day that I had to contemplate how to tell my child that something horrible had happened in the world and that our lives as we knew it would forever change.

This is the first day that I thought about how I would protect my family if it ever came down to it.

This day started off a new type of existence for this nation. We added new words to our language and new routines to our day. We also learned that we could cry easier than ever before.

My greatest wish is that we, as a nation, never experience this type of pain again. And, that we never forget.