When the words just are not right

I am suffering from guilt today. I started the day doing so well. I got the kids to school on time despite some snarly traffic. I worked in the community garden. I planned a fun blog post about our great family weekend last weekend at a cool resort. Then I really tuned into the radio and realized what today is.

Don't get me wrong, I knew it was Friday, September 11, 2009, but that date didn't register as more than the day that the school fundraiser enveloped were due. That is why I am suffering from guilt.

Today is one of the most significant days in American history that I was actually alive and cognisant enough to remember. This date marks one of the "defining moments" of my life. How could I not remember, and make plans to mark the day in a special way?

Alan Jackson recorded a song titled "Where were you when the world stopped turning?" I heard that song this morning and all of my memories from that day 8 years ago came rushing back.

I was one of those teachers of innocent children. I had a class of about 30 sophomores in our science lab when a colleague told me the news. I actually left my class to go to her room (they were still in my line of sight) to watch the news. They were full of questions when I told them that we had to stop the experiment and return to the classroom. Then there was silence in the classroom filled with my chattiest class ever as the truth dawned on them.

One of the greatest impacts on me personally was watching these "children" absorb the truth of what was happening to their world. That moment changed some of those lives forever. Others were touched for a day or a week, but eventually went back to their lives. But we were all touched. I was sad for the children who were still innocent enough to feel bulletproof, and who lost that innocence that day, but happy for them because of the lessons it taught them, lessons about how incredible it is to be an American.

I am fortunate enough to have friends who are closely associated with several branches of the military, some of whom have served overseas in rather risky areas one more than one occasion. One of whom has recently returned from his second tour in Iraq. I have people I can ask when I am curious about what is going on, how our armed forces are protecting us, what life is like in those ravaged countries.

I have spent time living in another country, learning about another culture and how those folks view Americans and the rest of the world. I had neighbors who were very curious about Americans and how or why we do things. Those same people were very willing to explain their take on their own culture.

I am proud to be an American with all of good qualities and bad. I am proud to live in a country that is able to defend our way of life here at home and in other places. I am proud that we have so many people willing to serve our country to protect that freedom that I often take for granted.

Thank you to everyone who works each day to guard the life that I take for granted. There are so many more people involved in this than the military, the police and people in other security jobs. Those in the military are on the front lines protecting us, but so many others work to protect and support them.

Thank you to those people who gave their lives on September 11, 2001. I cannot imagine your loss, and it may seem rude to think of it as a gift, but I did not appreciate my freedom until it was threatened. Now I look forward to teaching my children about this precious gift of freedom, and all of the people who make it possible.

So, where were you on that fateful day? How did it change your life? What will you do with it now?