9/11

Although part of me just wants to keep this blog basking in the glow of our new little angel, I feel it would be remiss to let this day go by without at least acknowledging it.  Ten years ago today started out just like any other day.  I was a sophomore at ACU, living in Sikes dorm.  Rushing was in full swing and the only thing any of us sophomores were really concerned about was whether or not we'd get a bid from the club we wanted.  My first class of the day was Speech for Elementary Teachers at 9:30.  As I came down the stairs, I was met by Hollie Inwood who worked the front desk of our dorm.  She asked me if I had heard the news, that a plane had flown into the World Trade Center in New York.  I believe this was before the second plane hit.  I walked to Speech, which was on the other side of the campus, and when I arrived, there were very few people in my class who had heard about it.  My teacher turned on the television in the classroom and we watched as the towers collapsed.  There really wasn't much to say.  After that class was Chapel.  I remember the hushed voices in Moody as people entered the room, something that had never before or again happened in my time at ACU.  Not knowing what else to do, we prayed.  Most classes were canceled that day, and large groups of students gathered around the televisions in the campus center.  The rest of that day was a blur, but I imagine I spent most of it in front of the TV in my dorm room. 

Lucas was much closer to NYC on that day.  He worked in Pittsburgh, PA at that time, not very far at all from where Flight 93 crashed.  He was actually in downtown Pittsburgh at one of his branch offices as the plane flew over Pennsylvania.  The Federal building in downtown Pittsburgh was evacuated because the plane's path seemed as though it might be heading for that area.  Because of the evacuation, downtown Pittsburgh was completely gridlocked, so he and the others at the office just waited it out while they watched the news coverage on TV. 

As we watched the special edition of Good Morning America today, we couldn't help but be taken back to those moments.  As Diane Sawyer commented on how the age of innocence was over at that point, I was struck by the truth behind that statement and how much we have all been affected since that day.  While we watched, I fed my baby and wondered what she will see in her lifetime.  Born far after 9/11, she will never know what life was like before that day.  I can only pray that she will not see anything like this happen in her lifetime.

I feel like it goes without saying that we are so incredibly thankful to all of the soldiers who have given their lives as well as those who have fought for us and survived in the years since 9/11.  Although we take our freedoms for granted everyday, we know that it is because of these people that we can rest a bit easier at night.  I am so thankful to the Lord every single day that I was fortunate enough to be blessed with the life I have.