story2925.xml

story2925.xml

born-digital

story

yes

no

2002-09-11

I remember receiving an email from a friend to hurry and turn on a tv because the WTC had just been hit by a plane. It sounded so unreal and before it had a chance to sink in, it echoed from an office down the hall and then into the reception area of our office. We turned on the tv, a small black & white in the breakroom, and were all stunned, speechless and confused. I couldn't believe what was happening. As our world turned upside down we were able to visually replay the first incident when the 2nd plane hit. This was so unreal it did not register for several minutes. I am in the business of property management and our first reaction was how do you get that many people down a stairwell - we could only imagine the chaos, then our next question was could the buildings sustain this sort of damage. Then our question was answered moments later when the most horrific scene unfolded before our eyes, as we witnessed these 2 beautiful buildings fall to the ground. Then we heard of the Pentagon and Pennsylvania and it was so completely unimaginable, it was as if a deadly earthquake had shook the entire Earth and we suddenly were not sure of the ground beneath us. I immediately questioned my own safety. I remember feeling so much that I almost felt numb - I felt as if the world was coming unwound before my very eyes. I immediately called my husband who works graveyard shift to pick up the children from school - I have 2. I remember thinking was this over or just beginning. Could we be next (Houston) - a large oil & gas city, the Port of Houston, I worked in a high-rise building filled with oil & gas companies (that all shut down for the day and sent their people home). Then we went home and my children looked to me for explanations, "why Mom?" and "are we okay?". I had to be honest, I didn't know why and wasn't sure if we were safe. We shared our fears, we shared many tears but we hugged most of all and all slept in the same bed that night. We watched the tv and cried with the victims and survivors. It was so heartbreaking to have to try to explain this sort of evil to a 12 and 6 year old. We prayed for everyone that night, especially the children whose moms and dads were not going to be coming home. I remember thinking that this will be a horrible story we lived through and our grandchildren will learn about in school but will need to learn from us how we all felt. I will never forget where I was, physically or emotionally. We will never be the same but somehow we were all brought closer together as a nation and each stronger to our faiths. Evil never wins, God will bring Good out of it always.