Friday, September 12, 2008

Where were you?

I know I'm a day late with this question, but with the anniversary of 9/11 I've been thinking back to that day. I remember that day vividly. It was when we were a DINK household (double income no kids). Hubby was already at work and I was doing my normal morning routine....get up groggy (I was not a morning person then and I still am not now), head to the kitchen for breakfast and watch the Today show while I ate my daily bowl of cereal. So I turn on the Today show and get my breakfast going and that's when I realized something BIG was happening. I shook off my morning grogginess immediately when I saw the TV. Katie Couric, Tom Brokaw and Matt Lauer were live in the studio, not replaying the original east coast morning show. I walked over to the couch and was glued to the tv. I couldn't stop watching. I knew I should be getting ready for work, but I couldn't tear myself away from it all. I called my sister to see if she was watching. I watched the towers fall, I watched the news anchors try to stay composed.

I was late to work and didn't care (I really do a have a good work ethic, I promise). I worked for Vancouver School district at the time and there were meetings to discuss what should be discussed in class for each particular age group, etc. I remember feeling relieved that I did not have kids at the time because I can't imagine how hard it would have been to know what to say or how much to expose kids to what happened.

Needless to say, not much work got done and we were all very sensitive to the fact that our boss previously worked at the Pentagon and was waiting for word regarding former colleagues. He lost two friends that day.

I'm a news junkie and for days and days I remember watching and reading story after story. I was touched by them all. I remember by that evening there were already taped interviews of survivors that were still dusty from escaping the collapse. I also remember thinking that the journalists must realize this was the story of their lifetime and they were under pressure to document it thoroughly. But I also remember feeling so far away from all that was going on, even though it was in my own country. I felt sadness, but I knew it couldn't compare with what so many people on (mainly) the east coast were feeling.

So....that leads me to my original question.....where were you that day? How did it impact you? It's one of those days that I'll never forget.

10 comments:

meleea said...

it was my first born's very first day of kindergarten. i didn't have the tv on since we were getting ready. my mom called so we turned it on. it was very difficult to take him to school and leave him there that morning! i will never forget it - i heard there were people who weren't at work yet that morning in the towers since they were taking their kindergarteners to school also - it was very eerie!

Trish said...

I was home..with a six month old.
I turned on the tv just as the second plane hit the tower.......

I called my mom because I was so confused about what was happening.......

Dave and I went to Ground Zero when we were in NY four years ago. It was very moving.

Lee Ann said...

I was four days from being married...sleeping on a friends couch. When I woke up there was a note beside me that said "turn on the tv". Instinctively I knew something was wrong. I didn't turn it on but instead drove straight to Steve's house. On the way there I was listening to the radio, but I didn't understand the magnitude of it until we turned on the TV. Here I was needing to do things for the wedding, but instead spent the entire day watching it. I just kept thinking of all the weddings that wouldn't be taking place that Saturday because someone had died.

I think it's made me more aware as to how special each day is. We never know when it will be the last.

Anonymous said...

Well, I was busy getting the boys ready for their first day of pre-school when you called me and told me to turn on the TV. I sat in awe and unbelief. My kids didn't know what to make of the news being on so much in the days that followed. I don't think the TV was ever changed from CNN. Jake and Casey were 4 and 3, and Jake called it the "all day fire" because it burned so long.

Dee said...

I was still in bed! Yes, I was a late, night owl. I was always inspired to be creative around midnight and would stay up until 3 or 4 in the morning. Boy, not any more.

My dear friend, Laurie called me. She knows I don't watch much tv. I just remember the news being such a rude awakening. My friend and I just watched tv together, talked and cried in disbelief. I also had a bid of warrior in me. I wanted to immediately be the one to find the darn people that attacked us Americians!

Eryn said...

I remember to waking up to my alarm with Katie Couric on my radio...I remember thinking, "What the heck is Katie Couric doing on my country station..." I turned on the TV and and moments later the second plane hit the second tower. Matt and I watched and cried as we watched the tower collapse. I cried alot that day.

The Pace Posse said...

I was still in bed when my mom called me early and told me to turn on the TV. Myke was getting ready for work. I was 4 months pregnant with Jaxon, Hunter was 10 months old. I remember it was so surreal...we spent days after glued to the TV watching every news feed.

It is strange for me to think about now that this was not even in my children's lifetime (ok, Hunter was a baby). It's something they hear about like I hear about JFK being shot. It seems like yesterday to me in some ways - so I can't grasp they weren't here for it.

Tawnya P. said...

Mara, I read your entry a couple of days ago, but just didn't have the time to sit down and write all that I wanted to write. Well, after spending close to two hours writing my story, I was almost ready to publish my book, uh I mean comment, when I realized just how long it was and that really, I needed to post it on my own site. So, my apologies, but if you want to read what I had to say, check it out at www.perufamily.com. And thanks for the prompt!

By the way, can I add you to my blogroll?

Annette said...

i remember being in the shower and mark coming in to tell me "we are under attack" i thought, do i need to get out right away, or do i have time to rinse? he told me what had happened, but i couldn't grasp what he was saying... when i finally dried off and got dressed, i saw the tv coverage, and like many of you watched in total disbelief the towers come down. but i also remember taking out the recycling and trying to make small talk to my neighbor, and he looking at me weird and said something like, "NO, something BAD happened..." I dropped ande off at school that day and looked at the teacher and she gave me a knowing nod- the schools did a great job w/ the kids! i respect them so much for that! oh, do you guys remember how quiet everything was for the 5 days or so that there was NO airtravel? i was running w/ a neighbor and THAT was really weird, that we didn't hear the airplanes in the mornings!

David said...

I was at work when I found out about it. I'd missed whatever may have been on the radio as I drove in, and don't watch any TV in the morning.

During one of my passes through the breakroom, I noticed everyone huddled around the TV, and found out what was going on. Word spread quickly, but being in a busy casino didn't leave time to watch things unfold, and so I picked up news as I could.

The mood around the casino was dampened as everyone thought about people they knew in New York or other big cities that might be targets.

While an incredibly unlikely target, we had to consider that we were one of only a few likely targets in our area of the state, and with the number of people traveling through the casino, keep a watchful eye out for anything out of the ordinary.

It kept us moving and working, when so much else was grinding to a standstill in the aftermath of the attack....