story6885.xml

story6885.xml

born-digital

story

yes

no

2002-09-12

My husband who enjoys channels such as Discovery and History called me into the living room to see the t.v. I thought he was watching a simulation of what might happen if we fell under attack. I could not bring myself to believe it was happening especially so near where we lived, you sometimes think about it but never expect it to. It was my day off and had scheduled my children's dentist appointments for that day. I went to the school and intended to tell them some of what was happening and discuss it with them later that evening after we watched the news. When I arived at school quite a few parents had come to pick up their children and it was hectic and chaotic. My daughter had been waiting for me but my son was no where to be found, my sister who works at the school went to his room but he was not there. There was some confusion with one of the monitors and she was escorting him back to his room on the other side of the building. after twenty minutes of panic and anger I finally had my son and daughter together and on our way. We arived at the dentist office and were there a few minutes and asked to leave because it is in the same building as our local government offices, when we exited the building there were army, air force and naval personnel filing in. At that point I broke down and told my children what was happening, there was a young armed guard coming and saw the situation and told my children that they were safe because they were there to protect us. I was very grateful for the comfort in those few words. I did not get his name and now wish I had so I could locate him and say Thank You for such a small but touching act of selflessness. we went home and decided to do something but did not know what, so we went to the store and bought ribbons and pins and made them to give out to anyone and everyone who wanted one. In total we made over one thousand and still had people asking for them. we continue in our efforts and still talking about what is going on. I have heard negative comments about exposing my young children to such horrors however I simply explain no matter how bad it is this is there lives and history and it can not be changed, but by letting them know they realize how important life is. Sacrificing your life as a firefighter, serviceman, or citizen is the greatest loss knowing why they did it is the greatest reward! My husband and I both being past volunteer firefighters can convey this idea to our children knowing most calls we were putting our lives on the line and willing to do it over and over for humanity. I would like to express my heartfelt sympathies to all those who have lost, and say thank you for this website to let people tell their stories.