I'll start out with giving a little background before I delve into the actual "day". Triscuit was born on July 6th, 2001. The WHOLE birthing experience scared the CRAP out of me because we almost lost him (the umbilical cord was wrapped around his neck 3 times. When I went in for my induction appointment, they couldn't find his heartbeat. I was at the hospital in less than 5 minutes and from there, it took another 6 minutes to get me prepped and him ripped out of me. The doctors worked REALLY fast to save his little life). The 9 weeks that I had off for maternity leave was pretty scary...I freaked out over EVERY little thing! I hardly slept...not because HE didn't sleep, but because I was afraid to close my eyes. I was SO scared I was going to lose him while he slept, so I just watched him breath all night. I knew that I was going to have to go back to work and I dreaded EVERYDAY that went by, because I KNEW that meant leaving Triscuit was that much closer.
Forward 9 weeks to September 11th, 2001
September 11, 2001, was my FIRST day back to work after having Triscuit. I was already upset because I had to leave my baby for the first time...and was ALSO fighting post pardum depression. I remember arriving to work, saying hello to everyone, showing pictures off of Triscuit, and shedding an occasional tear because I didn't want to be at work. Then, I hear someone say, "A plane has just flown into one of the World Trade Center Towers". I remember thinking, "Oh my God...How could a pilot NOT SEE SUCH A LARGE BUILDING???" I turned on my radio and a little while later, I hear, "A second plane has flown into the second tower". By this time, I KNEW something was fishy...but still didn't know WHAT. Our department got a TV and turned it on. We all watched in horror and shock. We all expected that the fire would be put out. We all EXPECTED it to be alright. Little did we know that we would witness the towers crumbling to the ground on LIVE TV. We started receiving phone calls from NY (at the time, I worked in a Pharmacy Services Dept. We helped with insurance coverage and computer overrides for special meds, vacations, lost meds, and MANY other things)...."so and so left their meds in the building as they fled." "So and so can't reach their home to take their meds, they need a few to get them by." We were flooded with calls from NY. By this time, we had gotten an E-mail from corporate saying, "WHATEVER THEY NEED...PLEASE GIVE IT TO THEM. NO QUESTIONS ASKED." THAT part of it wasn't difficult...the difficult part was hearing the people on the other line (pharmacists, pharmacy techs, patients) either TRYING to keep it together or CRYING their eyes out. For those of you that know me, I am a VERY compassionate person and have a HUGE heart. When they cried...I cried. Also being that it was my FIRST day back to work after having Triscuit, just made the day all that much worse. I was crying so hard! I remember shaking uncontrollably and wanting to do NOTHING but go home and hold my son. I kept thinking, "We are going to war....I just KNOW it. What is going to happen to us? What will happen to my son?" I know it sounds crazy even THINKING that way but because I am from a military family, I KNOW what war is. I KNOW what "ultimate sacrifice" means. After my work day was over, I drove home like a zombie. I was so worn out from the day! That evening, all I did was hold my 9 week old Triscuit and cry.
PHEW! That felt good to get off of my chest! I haven't really been able to talk about that for a long time. Feels good to let it out!
As the day progresses...remember what YOU were doing that day. I would really love to hear YOUR stories, so feel free to SHARE!!!
Also...if you know a policeman or a firefighter...take some time out of your day and say "Thank you". AND regardless of how you feel about the war or WHO you are voting for, remember the people in our military (either current members or past members). THEY are the one that are fighting to keep this country safe. THEY are willing to sacrifice the ultimate to keep US free. The least we can do is say, "Thank You!"
To all the people that I know that were in the military...I want to say THANK YOU FROM THE BOTTOM OF MY HEART! I appreciate EVERYTHING you have done for us! I love you guys!
John M (Step Grandfather - Airforce)
Celba C (Biological Grandfather - Airforce)
William K (Father - Airforce)
David M (Uncle - Army)
Kalani C (Cousin - Army - CURRENT - was recently involved in a road side bombing of his vehicle. HE was the only one to survive)
Ren Ren (Best Friend - Navy)
Ronnie (Friend - Army)
If I'm forgetting someone...ANYONE...please let me know. I will GLADLY add you to my list!
WE WILL NEVER FORGET!!!
I wanted to add something...especially to my Father.
Dad...I know I wasn't even a THOUGHT in your mind when you served, but through the years YOU'VE taught ME the value and importance of our military. You've taught me that REGARDLESS of WHO is the Commander and Chief, those in the military are to do ONE thing and ONE thing only....Protect our Families and our Freedom. Thank you...from the bottom of my heart for teaching me that valuable lesson. Remember how I told you that I wanted to join the Airforce when I turned 18...and then do you remember how you told me, "Over my dead body"? Well....although I was SO angry with you over that (for a while), I understood where you were coming from. I love and respect you with every fiber of my being! I love you, I love you, I love you!!!!
Love to all! Thank you for reading!
2 comments:
No doubt 9/11 will forever be known as one of those 'Where Were You' days. As a native NYer, it hit pretty close to home; luckily none of my close family or friends were affected.
My alarm had just gone off @ 5:45 AZ time. As usual, I clicked the remote to put the TV on, for just hitting the snooze would only let me fall back asleep. I could hear the live news feed about the plane hitting the tower. My first thought was 'Wow, what a crazy accident!'. My second thought was to call my parents and my bro, who live close by. Then I called bro in NY. He really didn't have anything to tell me that I hadn't already seen - until the second plane hit the tower. Then it hit me, and the rest is world history.
I called my boss to let him knoiw I wouldn't be in, and the rest of my day consisted of watching the news and talking to friends and family back home.
I was scheduled to fly back home on 9/13 for a baptism on 9/16. Well that didn't happen, so I rescheduled a trip for November. Of course, airport security was still super tight, and I was singled out at both airports for an extra patdown (black hair and goatee, dark skin - you do the math).
While I was there I passed up the opportunity to visit Ground Zero - my uncle worked for NYC building and planning dept. In retrospect, I should have taken the offer, for it would have been a once in a lifetime experience.
Years later I visited Ground Zero with my son. Amazing how a bustling area could seem so eerily quiet. My dad worked down the street from the WTC for many years, and also spoke of the eeriness of the entire area.
9/11 has changed the entire world in many ways, some good, some bad. To me, it's the greatest single event of all time.
I was on the phone, scheduling a second surgery, on 9/11. I had just had one procedure (outpatient) and when I came to and asked the nurse how it went, she just gravely told me I needed to call the doctor. I called the doctor after I got home and the nurse went and got him and he told me there had been a problem and I needed exploratory surgery as soon as possible. They gave me the number to call and schedule it. I called it immediately, as I was on hold for the scheduling nurse, I realized the show I had on TV had been interrupted and they were showing a burning skyscraper.
At first I thought it must have been somewhere in another part of the world. Then I saw "Live- NY CITY" at the bottom. They were talking about a plane hitting a building and I was imagining a small Cessna with an inexperienced pilot that thought it'd be cool to deviate from the flight path to fly over NYC as a stunt.
The nurse came back on the phone and was giving me the time to show up at the hospital and what not to eat and drinking and asking me 400 other questions.
Just as I was hanging up with her, I saw the 2nd plane fly into the other tower.
I remember thinking, "Dear God, this is happening on purpose! What kind of person would intentionally fly planes into a building?" That's when I realized they were commercial planes. All those people.
I remember sitting stunned all day, watching the news, trying to make sense of this. How could this happen?
I was horrified when I realized they were filming people who were meeting something so terrible in those buildings that they thought their only recourse was to jump. I yelled at the TV. How could they show that? Didn't they know there were children watching? Didn't they know there were family members watching who would never get those images out of their heads? (I know I never have). I remembered the Challenger explosion and feeling the same way that they continued showing it explode again and again...I could only think of how it was impacting the families of those people. The people's "right to know" did NOT extend to traumatizing the victims' families. It shouldn't.
Then the first tower fell. I was numb. I couldn't believe it. The wall of ash. The people running, covered head to toe in grey. The second tower fell.
I turned off the TV. I couldn't watch anymore. I tried to get myself together to prepare for my surgery.
I went to the hospital the next morning; everyone was numb. The TVs were on everywhere, replaying the same images again and again.
I remember trying to recover from my surgery and nothing was on TV but those images. They started talking about the rescue workers. The fire house that lost almost all it's men. All the policemen that were trying to get people out of there. The chaplin that was killed trying to minister to people in the midst of the tragedy.
It was a pain the entire country felt. We all at once realized terrorism wasn't something that only happened to "them" anymore. It was happening here. It was successful here. We weren't safe just because we were in America. The entire nation felt like we just came home and found a loved one murdered in our living room.
American flags started popping up everywhere. We would not be kept down. We would rally. We would come together and get through this. We would pick up the pieces together. We were stronger together.
Sadly, I think we've forgotten this already.
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