story5413.xml

story5413.xml

born-digital

story

yes

no

2002-09-11

It is 1986 and I have just joined the volunteer fire dept. in my town. My husband and I have finally done something together. I get pregnant with my son and had to quit. Two years later I had a daughter. Not being able to leave my children alone when called, I decided to wait on re-joining. I did in March 2001. Sept. 11, 2001 I am a teacher assistant in a school for exceptional children. We heard the news and tried to watch the happenings. All day long I wondered what I could have done. Sometimes all we can do is exactly what we are doing...when we are doing it. It was my time to teach the children.......not be saving lives. My heart wrenched each time I saw a new picture of the people evolving from the gray smoke and falling ashes. The only thing I could recognize about each person was their color. GRAY...Dirty...scared....dazed...astonished and completely devistated by the tragedies that had just occurred. Being a volunteer firefighter, I thought of my fellow firefighters families. "I hope their families know", I thought. "What would I do if it were me?" They made the ultimate sacrifice. They actually laid down their lives for those whome they did not know, not because someone made them, but because they wanted to. It was what they HAD to do. I am certain they would not have done anything different. In the fire department only 18 months now, I still can't help but think what kind of devistation all the families are still dealing with. Being a Christian, I hope they all knew Jesus as their Savior and heard Him calling to them in the darkness and ashes of a life passed. I hope they felt the comfort of His loving arms embrasing them as they breathed their last breath. I hope they heard His soft whisper "come home....your work is done". To each family member of each person who lost their life on that dreadful day, I pray a prayer of peace and comfort and strength for a new day. It is hard not to have been touched in some way by this horrific event. On the bright side, the world was changed. The brightest ray of hope was colored red, white and blue. "Old Glory" was displayed many ways....none disrespectful....on that day and more days. My respect for emergency personnel has grown and my love for the job has exceeded all I could ever imagine. I will always tell my family - before each trip out my door - whether to work or on a call - that I love them. For I may never know the fate that is held for me as I take the necessary steps to do what I have practiced over and over again. Only God knows our future. I will always remember! I will always hope!