September 11th

Where were you on September 11, 2001? What are your memories of that day?

I was in my office in Maryland about 80 miles south of the Pentagon when we started hearing the news of the plane hitting the tower in New York, the plane into the pentagon, the second tower and then the plane going into the ground. I still can remember the shock and disbelief.

All work stopped and people were glued to the internet and their radios.

I had two co-workers that were in route to New York on business and were in the air at the time. My fear was that something had happened to them. Luckily they landed at LaGuardia shortly after the first hit and were able to get a rental car and get out of the city before things came to a halt. I was later to learn that one of the ladies in my quilt guild lost her husband at the pentagon and another co-worker lost his brother-in-law on the plane that hit the pentagon.

Because of our close proximity to a Navy base and to a nuclear power plant and not knowing what might happen next the school kids were put on buses and sent home early that day. No one told them what was going on but from the looks on all the teachers faces they knew it was something bad. My daughter was only 7 at the time but has clear memories of that day.

There was no way I was sleeping that night. For the first time in my life I didn't feel safe in my own home. I spent most of the night on the sofa watching all the news coverage.

I think I was actually in a fog for a couple of weeks after the attack and from talking to others I know that a lot of people had the same reaction. I remember seeing letters dated September 12th and 13th a couple of weeks later that I had written for work and had no memory of writing them.

My thoughts today are with all the people that lost their lives that day, to all the kids that had a parent that never returned home, to all the families that were shattered. I think today I need to give my husband and daughter an extra hug and tell them how much they mean to me.

kathie