I forgot.....

Note: this blog was originally written on 09/11/07

I must admit, I forgot. I noticed a flag at half-mast today as I drove past a local gas station but it still didn't occur to me why. I figured a police officer had been shot and I missed it since I didn't watch the news last night. I kept driving. I arrived at my friend Missy's school where I was volunteering today and double checked my lipgloss before I hopped out of my car and entered the administration building all smiles at the front desk assistant. I went to sign in and get my nametag when I realized the date on the sheet: 9/11.

I had forgot. I forgot when I woke up this morning relishing that I was able to sleep in till 9. I forgot while I threw on a load of darks, made some toast and checked my email. I forgot while I watched reruns of "Tori and Dean: Inn Love" and contemplated which eyeshadow color I should wear. I forgot as I debated Einsteins or Starbucks for coffee. I was living my life. And I forgot.

Tonight I remembered. As I was walking tonight, the neighborhood I was in was eeirly still and quiet; it reminded me of the walk I took on 9/11 from my car to the campus of Arizona State. Being so close to Sky Harbor Airport there were always planes flying overhead at ASU. But not that day. The quietness felt painful. And on that walk I wondered if life would ever go on being the same. Tonight I realized, sadly, it was.

Truth be told, I never want to see a picture or a video of the planes hitting the towers again. I don't want to see footage of a burning Pentagon or the crash site in Shanksville. That was a horrifying day; one I don't want to replay in my mind. However, I do want to remember what 9/11 taught me: that life is vulnerable and fleeting, that we should love those we love with all our hearts, that we are able to rise up after any circumstance and overcome, and that God will always be the only Hope and Peace this world needs.

So tonight I pray for the families who lost a loved one on that horrible day, I pray for my friends and family whom I really don't pray for enough, and I pray that I remember every day I'm given is such a blessing. That I never want to forget.