story6366.xml

story6366.xml

born-digital

story

yes

no

2002-09-12

My husband and I were at Fairfax Hospital having an outpatient test done on our 2 year old when we walked into the waiting room and I saw an elderly woman sitting in a chair, wrapped in a blanket with tears in her eyes. I followed her gaze to the TV where I saw the towers burning. My first thought was why are they showing footage of the '93 bombing, but I quickly realized that this was live. My heart began to pound, we are from NY and we have siblings who work in Manhattan and some in lower Manhattan, and there were countless friends and former co-workers we know in the city. WHile we were watching in horror, the reporter on the phone from the Pentagon started talking about what seemed to be an explosion at the Pentagon and how the building shook. Withing moments they confirmed that the Pentagon had been hit by a plane, and suddenly my horror of the situation in New York turned to fear as I realized it was now in our own backyard. The plane they said had taken off from Dulles Airport was a mere 10 minutes from my house and the school where my older child was. My husband, who works at the Washington Navy Yard called to see if they had any information and or advice as we were pretty far from home. STAY AWAY FROM THE CITY and get home via back roads as the major highways were being shut down. We watched the first part of the tower crumble, and then the TV was turned off for the test to be preformed on our little girl. By the time we were leaving both towers had crumbled and we were sick with grief. There were reports that another plane was headed for DC and it was right near us circling over the beltway. Then a tech told us that the hospital was going into "lock down" we had no idea what that meant, and really did not want to find out. My husband, knowing that the best thing we could do was get out of the area, got us out of the hospital and on our way home. We were in the car when the phone rang, and I guess we both knew it would only be a matter of time, our country was under attack. You see my husband is a LCDR in the NAVY Reserves, and that call was asking how soon he could be ready to go. Nothing official, but to be ready. It is so clear now that NO ONE knew what was happening, and fear was engulfing us all. When we finally arrived home there was an erie silence. Everyone was outside, but no one was speaking above a whisper. THe answering maching brought relief, as there were 23 messages from family and friends saying they were OK, but were worried about my husband being in DC. Thankfully we did not loose anyone on that day, but it has directly effected us because in February, my husband was recalled by the NAVY to serve for one year in Guantanamo Bay, Cuba. Everyday as I struggle to get through another day being a temporary single mother of three, I remind myself of the thousands of women who are now permenant single mothers because of 9-11, and for thier pain and grief I offer up my hardships.