thankful thursday

I am so very thankful this week that I am an American.

I feel so blessed to live in a land that makes me free & gives me choice. I am grateful for those that serve our country & stand up for us to retain our freedom. I know it's been a long time since our country was undoubtedly changed forever but I will never forget how that change occurred. I want to document my experience, because I don't know that I've ever actually written it down, & I'm getting older & don't want to forget how I found out about what happened & what we did in the time after.

I was in college in 2001. It was a cold chilly day in Idaho. I always slept with my radio on, the music helped me sleep. The morning of the 11th I remember being frustrated at all the talking on the radio that morning. I was just trying to sleep in! Then I decided that something must be important because I hadn't heard any music for quite some time. I got up & went across my room to turn up my stereo. I stood there is shock as the words sunk in. I ran downstairs to our living room & turned on our t.v. Every channel it seemed had the same coverage, & a usually busy courtyard was still outside our condo. At that moment all I could think about was my friend Elizabeth who had an early class that morning. Her father worked near the trade center. I ran back upstairs & woke up my roommates & told them what had just happened. We all went back downstairs & watched the t.v. in shock. I think I called my parents during this time too. Another friend of mine came over & sat with us for a bit. I told her we needed to go get Liz out of class because surely she hadn't heard what was going on. So we got dressed quickly grabbed our jackets & headed to campus. We found her lecture hall & went in & found her. She hadn't heard the news & let the prof. know what was going on & we left. She called her family & couldn't get through (obviously) so we just say in front of the t.v. wondering & crying. Finally we heard from them, her Dad was fine, what relief. He had meetings in up-state that week & was no where around. It was a sobering time. We all spent hours watching the news & reading the newspaper for more information in the days & weeks following. I remember not really knowing where America would go from there. I guess I am still waiting for us to completely recover. I still have hope that we can be more unified as a country, especially during election times.

This is OUR country & we have been blessed with the ability to protect & honor it. I also wanted to remember the families of those who are serving. I can't imagine sending my loved ones away for a time not knowing if I would ever see them again while on this earth. It must be so hard to get through each day & I admire their strength.

Here is a link to a song I have just loved about the day that changed everything. Where were you?