18 years later - 9/11/2001

Here I sit at a desk 18 years later than that horrible day that changed us all forever.

I left work early that day and went home to my apartment and watched the reports and news footage.
I talked repeatedly with other GS organizers and the recruitment team to decide if we were going to hold our recruitment night that night as planned.
I went to the elementary school and picked my kids up early and walked hurriedly to the car and hugged them both very tight.

My son was in 2nd grade (I think) and asked me if I heard about the plane crash. I held his trusting little hand as tight as possible and said, yes, honey I heard about it and it is still on the news.

We did hold that recruitment night at the Renaissance Center (in Dickson, TN) and my daughter was in the flag ceremony to open the event. She asked all night long what we can do to help support the firefighters and first responders who were helping. We brainstormed and did all kinds of service projects from sending thank you cards, making cookies and making lots of ribbon pins to send to the firefighters  in our area and far away. That night would be the biggest recruitment in the history of Dickson County. We had over 100 girls register/sign up that night.

Everyone wanted to help each other and we came together as a country in those months after 9/11. I remember the lines to give blood, the lines at the post office to send care packages to soldiers and the giving/helpful spirit our community had.  Most stores around here ran out of flags.

I miss that USA and I miss the helping each other of that era.

It was a horrible act of terrorism and I will never forget it.

Today, I wore a red shirt and wrote down my memories in this blog hoping someone reads them and the story, the memories and the sacrifices are never forgotten.

Be Kind to each other folks. You only get one life. You may as well spend it being kind and helpful rather than cheating or stealing or clawing your way up a corporate ladder.

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