I thought about what I should share today with it being 9/11. Twenty years. I can’t believe it has been that long. I remember that day so well. I woke up to my mom calling and telling me to turn on the news just as the second plane hit. I stared in horror at the tv while getting my then 5 year old son ready for kindergarten. And then waiting at the bus stop. Wondering if I should even send him to school. Like most people that day, I felt scared and helpless. But I also felt extremely proud to be an American. To watch our nation come together and stand strong against those that tried to take our unity away. It wasn’t until 2018, when I went on my first trip to NYC and visited the 9/11 memorial museum, that I understood the devastation and magnitude of the events that transpired that day. Walking into that museum, something comes over you. A reverence of sorts. From the moment you walk down the stairs and see the twisted metal that once supported an entire building. The concrete stairs that are still in place and wondering how many people walked those stairs everyday. Part of the foundation where one of the towers once stood.

Throughout the museum you can hear news broadcasts replaying the events of the day. There are several televisions showing footage. Telephone recordings of people telling their loved ones they won’t be home. Frantic 911 calls. It’s absolutely heartbreaking. And then there is the wall of faces and names of the lives lost that day.

So many lives. So many families hurting. I can’t even begin to imagine the horror those families felt waiting for news of their loved ones. Or the families of the first responders that risked their own lives running into an unimaginable nightmare. This fire truck that was destroyed when the north tower collapsed. Ladder 3 was one of the first to respond.

Visiting the 9/11 memorial was definitely one of the highlights of my New York trip. I definitely found a new understanding of just how much this tragedy shaped our country. And a true appreciation for the people that stepped up and put themselves in harm’s way to help that day.

Do you remember where you were that day? Or what you were doing? I think one of my favorite songs about that day is from Alan Jackson. He says “Where were you when the world stopped turning on that September day?” I think for anyone who was alive that day they can confidently say that they know exactly where they were. Today we remember. So, pray for the lives and families shattered that day, hold your loved ones a little longer, be kind and never forget. Never forget what they tried to take away from us but failed. Never forget the sacrifice that so many made that day and still make today. As for me…I will never forget. <3