You should display it somewhere.
Especially today. September 11. Do you remember?
Yesterday, I reminded my husband and son that this anniversary was upon us once again. My son said, "Yeah, I know, we talked about that at school." We quizzed him: did he really understand? "Yes," he said. "Our teacher said it was the day when there was a, um, an accident and people were hurt—"
My husband and I immediately jumped in. "Honey, we've talked about this. It was no accident. It was deliberate," I said.
"Yes," added my hubby. "It was an act of war."
"I know," said my son. "The people flew the planes. They flew them into the buildings."
We revisited that awful day in our minds, Todd and I. We re-explained to our son why one of the planes had landed in a field in Pennsylvania. We re-lived it, for a moment. The shock, the feelings, the dread that grew in my chest that day and will dwell there forever.
I will not forget. I will not let anyone misrepresent this day, not to me or my son or anyone. Listen to the roll call. All those names, all those lives. The ripples continue; the water's surface is not smooth.
The war goes on.
3 comments:
I did not tell Jordan about 9/11 until she was in 1st grade, I think. And I kept it simple: Some bad people drove planes into some building in NYC and many people died. As she has gotten older (4th grade now), I tell her a little bit more. I still don't think she has ever seen a picture, and I am okay with that as she is very sensitive.
I am going to write another 9/11 post right now about my thoughts on people remembering and what I did, FYI.
Marcus hasn't seen pics or vids yet either. Not big, clear ones, anyway. I know the impact that footage had on me, and I'd rather wait until I feel more certain that he's ready to face something so monumentally upsetting.
Isn't it amazing how 11 years later it's impossible to see those images without crying and reliving it all. And we were quite removed from it -- imagine how New Yorkers feel, let alone those who lost loved ones. PTSD for sure. BTW, I had the chance to visit the Flight 93 Memorial last month -- had been there when it was a makeshift thing, but not since. It is also quite moving. They did a nice job with it, with more to come.
Post a Comment