story3066.xml

story3066.xml

born-digital

story

yes

no

2002-09-11

It was a typical day at work. I was reading e-mails and getting organized for the day ahead when I received a frantic call from my husband. He was at home feeding our son when he heard of the first tower being hit on the radio. He ran to see it on the television. When he called he replayed the horror of the first hit and I listened to him scream "Oh my God, a plane just ran into the second tower". My heart sank. I began to cry and shake. What was happening? Were we under attack? Who would do this? I tried to log onto a news website to find out more information but they were all overloaded. There are no televisions that actually get reception in our building. All I could do was wait for my husband to call back with news. I was meeting with another director that morning and we decided to move it over the the Mariott Hotel so we could watch what was happening. Hearing the news was devastating, seeing what happened cannot be described in words. All I wanted to do was get my 10 month old son and hold him and never let go, which is exactly what I did later that morning. Someone used the word "armageddon" when the Pentagon was hit. Never before had I had so much fear for my family and friends. From that day on, I will never neglect my God, my family or my friends. They come before anything else in my life. I take time to smell the roses and I don't take anything for granted. Although I did not lose any family or friends in these tragedies, my life will forever be changed.