Remembering 9/11 – 18 Years Later

This is the same field in which I was riding on September 11, 2001 at 9:00 am.  The sky was just as blue and the grass just as green but little did I know that when I returned to the barn from that ride, our world as we knew it would be forever changed.  I was riding in this field today with thoughts of 9/11 on my mind when eerily, a plane flew by overhead and I couldn’t help but feel emotional as I thought about the events of that day.

Before heading out for the ride, I had heard something about a plane crashing into the World Trade Center but thought it was just an accident, as did many that day upon first hearing the news.  I was lucky enough to be at work, on a horse in a beautiful field enjoying peace and serenity when, unbeknownst to me, all hell was breaking loose less than 60 miles to my south.

Upon returning to the barn, I was told what was happening and couldn’t believe my ears.  The events of the day continued to unfold and we all know how it ended.  Almost 3,000 lives were lost and now, even more lives are being lost every day as a result of the toxic conditions that were present in the aftermath.

Even 18 years later, the tragedy of 9/11 is unfathomable.  It’s impossible to wrap our heads around it.  And now, we must teach our children about the day that has become a part of American History.  Children who don’t know a life before the towers fell but who have the task of growing up in a scary world that has become our new reality.

May we all take a moment to remember the lives that were lost, the heroes that gave all and the kindness that people showed each other that day as they faced the most ultimate evil.

God Bless America