story20387.xml

story20387.xml

born-digital

story

yes

no

2006-09-10

The morning of September 11, 2001 started out as a beautiful day. At that time my son was 8 years old and I had just dropped him off at school and headed on to work. I work for the State of Maryland. It was a typical normal day and started my work day as I always had. About an hour of so later after I had gotten there, two people came running to my desk screaming that something horrible had happened in New York to the World Trade Center. I instantly got angry because one of the people was notorious for pulling pranks and I told them not to joke about something like that. But they kept insisting that it did happen. Someone brought a television in, and I was horrified to see the first tower in flames. I was shocked, speechless and terrified. The next thing I knew I saw this airplane hit the second tower and I screamed in horror. Our office was automatically placed on "lockdown" which means that no one could leave or enter the building. All I could think about was those people in those towers and how I prayed that each of them was able to get out. I thought about my son, my mother, and my brother. I was just in a daze about what I had just witnessed. I thought about my family in New York and was scared for them. My mother was able to get through on the phone to call me and to plead for me to come home because she was afraid that something was going to happen to me. I explained to her that I wasn't able to, because at this time I was considered an "essential employee". She started crying hysterically and was begging for all of us to leave because she was terrified for everyone, I finally convinced her to call down and told her that everything would be okay. I was finally able to leave my office building around 12pm. Traffic was a nightmare. Frantic people were trying to get to loved ones, getting their children from school, or just crying hysterically in the streets. We were at risk as a state because we are in close proximity to Washington, DC, so everything was chaotic. It is now September 10, 2006 and my son is now 13 years old. He still has nightmares about that day and is terrified about tomorrow, which is the 5th anniversary of September 11th. Four months after September 11, 2001, I discovered that I was pregnant with my second child. I was thrilled, but worried. Worried about my baby and my son's future. Did I want to bring another child into a world that would do these horrendous things to each other, like those sick madmen had done to us? I wondered if my children would ever be able to live in a world that was full of peace, kindness, and decency for all people. I gave birth to a beautiful little girl named Aaliyah. She is now 4 years old. But when I look into my children's eyes, I see hope. Hope that their generation would be able to change this world. Hope that they can look past the horrible things that they have seen and can try to make the world a better place. Hope that we can really unite as people and stop taking life for granted. I talk to my children about September 11th. Even though it's painful, I don't want them to ever forget it. Too many people sacrified their lives in order for them to live.