United we stand

This morning was no different for me than any other Sunday morning. I woke up, lounged in bed, made coffee and breakfast and browsed my blogs and social networks.

It's not that I forgot that it's the 10th anniversary of 9/11 (who could, in the 24-hour news cycle) and it's not that I trivialize what happened in others lives, this time 10 years ago. But I don't really think my story on that day is any different than anyone else's. I wasn't there, I was in class. My teacher walked in and calmly told us what happened, but that was right as the first plane hit the first tower and everyone thought it was an accident. It wasn't until after class that we heard the rest, and like everyone else around the world, we each ran home to watch the horrific events unfold on TV.

That's not what I was thinking about this morning. Instead, as I went about my morning, and as I was fighting a semi-losing battle against the weeds in the backyard I was counting my blessings. I am fortunate enough that I CAN go about my morning as usual. I am fortunate enough that I can make plans for the future and live my life without that memory haunting me from every corning in the back of my mind. There are countless people out there who lost someone, who replay that memory over and over as they try to fall asleep. There are so many people will never be who they were before 9/11, who can't erase that memory of smokey stairwells or lose the smell of burning air. There's a whole community of Americans who suffer from hate crimes because a group of angry, hateful people committed this abomination (there are no words to really describe how horrible it was) and there are thousands and thousands men and women here and abroad who are fighting to end terrorism.

I hope something like this never happens again. I hope that people can learn to live with what they suffered through and I hope eventually that people who live with hate and anger in their souls learn to quell those feelings in non-violent ways. And I will continue to appreciate and be thankful for all I have to live with.