Since Tris, my husband, is a pilot, and was a pilot during 9/11, the attacks truly impacted my family members’ lives.  Thank goodness he was home on 9/11, but because the world of aviation is very small, we did not know if any of his friends were flying the planes used for the attacks. Fortunately, none of the pilots were people we knew, but the loss was huge for many families, companies, and most of all, the United States. 

I will never forget sitting in the recliner feeding Spencer, my 4 month-old at the time, and watching the Today Show. I saw the initial report about the first airplane hitting the towers, and I went to get my husband.  When he saw the footage of the first hit, Tris said, “That must have been a Cessna (a very small plane) or something like that.”  Immediately after that, the second airplane hit, and he said, “That’s my airplane!  That’s the plane I fly!”  Of course, we couldn’t see the airplane’s tail to identify the airline company. We started calling all of our friends who were in some way connected to the airline industry.   can’t even begin to count the number of times our phone rang that day to find out if Tris was home and okay.

Like my parents’ generation who will never forget where they were when Kennedy was shot, I believe that the 9/11 attacks have become my generation’s main memory that we will never forget. I was very proud of the way Americans came together after the attacks, but I wish Americans still felt that patriotism as strongly today. As we face the tenth anniversary of the attacks, I hope that Americans will thank God for His protection and to remember to thank the servicemen and women who keep us safe.