story6555.xml

story6555.xml

born-digital

story

yes

no

2002-09-12

I woke up early the morning of the eleventh sorting through my day in my head. As I headed downstairs excitement was building up inside of me as I thought of the things I had planned for the day. Late into my ninth month of pregnancy I was looking forward to a scheduled doctor's appointment to see how my son was doing. I flipped the television on to the news and turned, walking into the kitchen, to make some breakfast before I had to leave. Half listening to what was being said I didn't fully understand what was happening at first. I went back upstairs to tell my husband that on the news a plane had crashed into a building, I wasn't sure where but he should get up and watch the news with me. A few minutes later I ran back upstairs to tell him that one of the World Trade Center towers had fallen and he needed to get up right now. We watched in shock and horror at the chaos that was erupting on the streets of New York. On the way to the docotrs office (an hour drive for us) we listening in silence as the news gave details of the cowardace act that had brought down the towers and damaged the pentagon. When we arrived at the doctors office I was the last one to be seen and we watched the news while I waited to see the doctor. As I pried myself away from the television set in the lobby when my name was called I was filled with grief and sorrow for all the innocent lives lost. Then to add to my shock the doctor informed me that we couldn't wait any longer and I had to go into labor that afternoon. The mixed emotions that I felt at that very moment over took me. On such a sad day in our history, a day when so many innocnet lives were lost and our country came under attack unprovoked, I was going to bring a child into this world. All through my labor I watched the news. I cried for the children who lost thier parents as I thought of my son that I would soon be seing, I cried for the parents who lost thier children in the towers and aboard the planes, some as young as two years old, and I cried thinking of what kind of world my son had to look forward to. At 11:27 p.m. on September 11th 2001 Michael Seth McDougal was born into a world filled with pain and misery. A world where heros had died trying to save people they had never known, and the lives of these people meant just as much to us as our own.

Now a year later my feelings and emotiong are just as mixed as they were on this same day last year. I am so happy to have a healthy happy one year old son, and excited about his birthday. But at the same time I cry for all of those who lost thier lives on this tragic day, and for the souls who survived and must remember. But I am proud to say that my son is an American Child. He was born into the greatest country in this world, where acts of terrorism will not scare us into a corner. On the 11th of September our nation became one with a common cause, to show the world that we will not waver and we will not allow cowards to control our lives with fear. My son will grow up knowing that on the day he was born, we became stronger as whole. And I am overwhelmed will love and pride for our country....there isn't a better place to raise my son.