Remembering
September 11, 2001 was the first day of the rest of my life. I was starting a new job. My first full-time job after graduating college. I was excited. I was tired when I woke up early to get ready.
And then the world fell apart. I can’t recall now exactly how I found out. My mom might have called me. Or I might have turned the Today Show on. I just remember sitting in front of the TV in disbelief. Staring at images of smoke pouring out of the World Trade Centers. Confused about what was happening.
And then hearing that a plane had crashed into the Pentagon. The Pentagon that was a hop, skip and a jump from my sister’s house at the time.
And then, suddenly, there was more smoke. Confusion. Did one of the towers just fall? Is that something that could ACTUALLY happen?
But I knew I had to get ready for work. To head off and start my new career. I put a tape in the VCR, finished getting ready, and spent the rest of the day sitting through orientation and waiting impatiently for each break so that I could check in on the news. So that I could talk to my family.
I still can’t watch footage from that day. There’s a tape labeled “9/11 Coverage” that sits in a cabinet. I’ll never get rid of it. But I can’t say I’ll ever watch it. I’ve only been back to New York, the city I love, the city I grew up just outside of, once since 9/11 and I’ve never been to Ground Zero. I honestly don’t know that I’d be able to go. To stand there. To remember what was. To remember the sheer magnificence of those two buildings. To remember the thousands of people who lost their lives there. In that spot.
But today, I sit here with tears streaming down my face as I remember. I’ll always remember. We MUST always remember.
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Grandmaother on 11 Sep 2008 at 7:19 am #
I remember that when we drove down from West Milford, and we’d get to the
spot that you could see the twin towers way off in the distance, it was always
a little chill of excitement – or amazement. I always looked forward to that moment.
I’ll never forget that day.
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Issa on 11 Sep 2008 at 7:34 am #
I’ll always remember too.
I heard it on the radio the second I got up that morning. The first tower had just been hit. Spent the rest of the day watching TV at home, since our office wasn’t allowed in the building. 7 months pregnant with Maya, wondering what kind of world I was bringing a baby into.
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Denise@EatPlayLove on 11 Sep 2008 at 7:45 am #
I can’t believe it’s been 7 years. I will never forget that morning, that feeling, the sadness.
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Angie @ Keep Believing on 11 Sep 2008 at 7:52 am #
I was already at work that day when it happened. Because I had a slavedriver of a boss who wanted us there at the asscrack of dawn. I posted about this today (and BTW, you haven’t been by in a while *giving a quick glare*), too. It is sad that as so many people will always mourn their personal loss on this day, that it is becoming so faded and a day that anything can still happen. Feels like it should be a Holiday to me – I hate that we have school pictures today. I hate that we have soccer practice, etc on such a significant and such a sad date.
KEEP BELIEVING
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Amy in Ohio on 11 Sep 2008 at 8:29 am #
I was at work also. It was the most gorgeous day – the bluest skies. We rushed to the conference room where the tv was located when the calls started coming in. I remember sitting there thinking this was some sort of War of the World do-over. The visuals before me were too Hollywood to be real.
Honestly, the images are still hard to believe.
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Grandma Pam on 11 Sep 2008 at 8:49 am #
Let’s hope that nothing like that ever happens again!
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Z on 11 Sep 2008 at 9:02 am #
I remember.
And can never get over the fact that I am here. Where it happened. Where I hope it will never happen again…
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Headless Mom on 11 Sep 2008 at 10:29 am #
My father was flying that day-the last American commercial jet to still be flying. I was only comforted by knowing that he was flying to Australia. They gave him the option of landing at the closest airport or going on. He knew that where ever they landed that they would be there for a while so he chose to go to their destination. He couldn’t get home for 10 days or so.
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papa-oomau-al on 11 Sep 2008 at 11:38 am #
I was a patient in the ICU, hooked up to a respirator, after awakening from a three-month coma the day before, on Sept. 10, 2001. The nursing staff kept the TV off for weeks, to protect my fragile state, so I have no memories of that time.
During the subsequent seven years I’ve seen thousands of images from that day that I don’t remember, and yet I feel the horror over and over again. I can’t imagine what it was like at the time for everyone else, the sadness and fear and helplessness you all must have shared. I cry now, too. Even though I don’t remember, I can never forget.
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Susan on 11 Sep 2008 at 12:38 pm #
I will never forget that day, the beautiful pristine blue sky the thick black smoke pouring up polluting the beauty of the sky. My horror when I called my mom for some mundane thing and her telling me turn on the T.V. at work, a plane just hit the Twin Towers. As I was yelling to my coworkers to turn it on, her saying OH MY GOD another plane just hit the other tower !!!! She started crying and a cold chill went down my back knowing this was no freak accident, this was deliberate. I remember the silence…. only punctuated by one of my coworkers quiet sobbing as we watched the towers burn. What could you say at a moment like that knowing all life as we know it was about to change. The fear of not knowing what was to come, the feeling of “I just need to get home and I’ll be safe.” But still knowing none of us were safe and wishing it was all just a very bad dream.
Susans last blog post..Poor choices
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Vixen on 11 Sep 2008 at 1:07 pm #
I remember and will always remember. And cry.
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Kesler Crew on 11 Sep 2008 at 1:24 pm #
Shane and I had just moved to St. Louis. I was working my new job and will never forget where I was the exact moment I found out. What a terrible time it was for our nation. Before it happend we had never been to NYC, but we did make it up there a couple of years later for a friend’s wedding. I will never forget going to “Ground Zero” – there was SO much sadness. I could feel the sorrow and pain everywhere. It was so sureal…..
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Andrea's Sweet Life on 11 Sep 2008 at 2:17 pm #
I was driving to work, and heard it on the radio. We didn’t have a TV at work, so we just listened in all day. For a long time I felt badly that I didn’t cry, but I came to realize that I was in complete shock. Shock and disbelief.
I still can’t watch the coverage – I didn’t see it that day, and I don’t want to. I avoid the TV on the anniversary of 9/11, and I know that’s the punk-ass wussy way to go. But the still images are burned in my head forever, I don’t need the video footage in there, too.
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Madge on 11 Sep 2008 at 2:45 pm #
We walked by Ground Zero last summer, not to go there, to get somewhere, I didn’t even know we were walking past it and then Jamie pointed it out and it made me sick. it just made me so so sad to be right there…..
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anymommy on 11 Sep 2008 at 4:05 pm #
Beautiful post Meghan, I just didn’t have the words for today. There are some images from that day that will never leave me, they come to mind whenever it’s mentioned and bring tears to my eyes. I’ll never forget.
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Jessi on 11 Sep 2008 at 4:56 pm #
Beautiful post Meghan…I had a very had time today talking with my oldest about it and trying to correct what he was told at school today. Like it was yesterday I remember sitting at home since I had surgery the day before watching it all unfold. Sitting on my bed with two phone for the two separate landlines and two cell phones frantically trying to find out if my friends and family that were very close to the towers and/or NYPD and NYFD. I remember driving to get my oldest from daycare because it was closing early and driving there and the eerie silence of no planes overhead. (We were in the landing path of Dulles airport)
I think for me the worst was a month later driving up to see family and looking out the car window as we crossed the bridge into the city and seeing the smoke still rising and trying to explain it all to a 4 year old…even now I start tearing up just thinking about it. I kept the TV and radio off all day today.
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Brittany on 11 Sep 2008 at 5:31 pm #
wonderful post. Beautiful remembrance. We will never forget.
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A Mama's Blog (Heather) on 11 Sep 2008 at 6:28 pm #
I think we all remember that day, and we always will. It is so hard even now to think about how our world changed forever in a matter of minutes. I, like you, can’t think about it with out getting tears in my eyes. I can’t speak of the past, but for our generation, this was the worst day in our lives…it was never the same after 9/11.
Thank goodness we have so many wonderful police, fire, security, etc., and that another attack hasn’t happened in 7years. I hope we, and my children, never have to experience another day like that-ever.
A Mama’s Blog (Heather)s last blog post..September 11th
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JCK on 11 Sep 2008 at 10:41 pm #
It is one of those moments that we all remember exactly where we were and what we were doing. All of us.
JCKs last blog post..A world in which we can look at each other and see the good
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HRH on 12 Sep 2008 at 11:28 am #
I was sitting on the couch watching TV and waiting for carpet cleaners to come. Ryan was 6 months old and we were just hanging out together in the living room. I was watching the news when the first plane hit. I knew something was wrong and called Greg who was active duty Air Force at his office. I told him something was going wrong and he better get to a TV…I watched as the second plane hit. I watched all day long. I watched all night long. I watched the whole next day. I just remember sitting on my plaid couch holding my baby so close and worrying about where my husband would be sent. When I think of it now my heart just stops.
HRHs last blog post..Some movement with shaking
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Beth on 11 Sep 2009 at 5:04 pm #
I am a new reader to your blog and I absolutely love it!
This is one of the best essays I’ve ever read on 9/11. It literally brought tears to my eyes.
We will never forget that horrific and world-changing day.
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