9.11 Remembered...

Every year on this day I think of the families and the tragedy that happened in America. I don't personally know anyone who lost a loved one, but I do remember how devastated we were as a family and as a nation. Ironically, our little family had just flown into Los Angelos for a vacation at Disneyland on the night of Sept. 10th. We landed, rented a car, and went to the hotel to get a "good nights sleep" and hit DL first thing the next morning.

But, of course,the next morning, the unmentionable happened. We were stunned, saddened and shocked at the horror on the TV. It was hard not to be home where we felt safe. The kids, especially Kenadee who was 6 at the time, didn't understand what was going on. Everything got immediately shut down in California, even Disneyland, since most of the flights were originally destined for California. We were lucky to have a car and a place to stay.

The next day DL did open up along with the freeways and stores etc. We continued on with our vacation which had obviously lost it's luster. Nothing takes the fun out of the "happiest place on earth" like a terrorist attack. Every few hours Disney would stop what was happening to have a moment of silence. It was the most surreal experience. On one hand we were trying to carry on with our family and have fun, and on the other, we couldn't stop thinking about all the people and their poor families. Dave and I would get the kids to bed and then stay up for hours watching CNN as the news kept unfolding.

We were fortunate to have rented a car because there were no flights home (remember, the airlines were down for days too) so we drove our rental car back listening to talk radio the whole way. I will never forget the sadness and compassion we felt for the families, the victims, the firemen, the volenteers. It was an amazing time. What our family did learn was: we were grateful for each other...We could love people we didn't even know...and that even though there are very bad people out there-there also are very good people out there who gave their time, talents, and even their lives to save and help others.

Remember 9/11. And let us all remember how fragile our freedom is from those who want to distroy it. Not all terrorist carry weapons of mass distruction. Some come in the form of complacency and a willingness to just follow the crowd and be a sheep. Vote. Speak out. Stand up for your rights and protect your freedom before so much change has happend that you no longer can.

GOD BLESS AMERICA!