Wednesday, August 31, 2011

Simmering thoughts and boiling memories

I used to keep a journal...I kept it almost daily for about 20 years and it kind of fizzled at that point.  I think because I write online, I lost my enthusiasm for the notebook.

One of these days I am going to look up my entry from September 11, 2001.  JohnPaul would have been three years old, and the other kids were all school age.  Maria was in 1st grade, Tony--3rd, Jacob--6th, and Ian--9th.  I remember the weather vividly because it was one of those ideal late summer days...the sun was shining, the sky was blue, the air was fresh, and there were barely any clouds to be seen.

After having seen the kids all out the door, I remember having something exciting to report to my mom (now I don't remember what it was), so I hurriedly rang her on the phone.  When she answered, I was anxious to jump right in an tell her my news, but she cut me off.  "Did you see the news?"  It was just after 9:00 and I had not put the TV on. 

 I answered her, "No."  She told me something strange had happened, that an airplane had struck a sky scraper in NYC. 

The magnitude of that didn't hit me yet.  I figured a pilot made an error in judgment and was flying too low or something.  I pictured a single passenger plane.

So, I said, "Hmmm, that's wierd.", then continued my story.  She seemed rather distracted and said maybe I might want to put my TV on, so we said 'goodbye' and I turned the tube on.

The Today Show was on.  I remember sitting there with JohnPaul, watching the recap of the collision, when the 2nd plane hit the towers.  That's when I knew something was really wrong.  I could not believe what I had just seen happen live.

We stayed glued to the TV most of the day.  It was surreal.  Life changed that day in many ways...

When I decide to get my notebook journal out, if I see anything posted in it of interest, I will share it on here.  It might not say much of anything; I actually do not remember writing anything. 

So, here we are, coming up on the 10th anniversary of this tragedy.  I seems crazy to think about that being 10 years!  Shortly after that, John's mother was diagnosed with cancer, and given two weeks to live.  She died in December, just a few weeks before Therese was born. 

Today I sent Therese off to her first day of 4th grade.  JohnPaul, who was three years old that day, went to his first day of 8th grade.  Maria is now a high school junior, and the three young men are Penn Staters. 

In that decade, my hair has become streaked with grays.  I have become a different type of mom than I was then--no longer the pregnant and harried mom of babies and little kids, but the mature mother of mostly young adults.


10 years.  Wow.



HUGSxxxAnnie



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