A New Day
September 11, 2001 started early enough.
Hannah woke up around 4:00am, unable to go back
to sleep. Chris took over around 4:30 as
Benjamin climbed into bed with me. At
6:30, Chris came into the room and relayed a
chilling statement. "They just blew
up the World Trade Center". As the
events unfolded on TV, the realization that life
will never be the same again was devastating.
For the rest of the week, I couldn't concentrate
or get any work accomplished.
Hannah's 1st birthday party was Saturday, and it
didn't seem so important anymore. For the
rest of the week, as I went through the motions
of preparing for a party, I felt guilty and
selfish. I considered calling it off, but
as the week wore on, I realized how much we
needed to have this party. We had gone
through that horrible week glued to all the
media coverage, and needed something uplifting
to end it. I realized that for life to go
on, we had to go on. Now I'm glad we did.
It was nice to see friends and family
celebrating life, and all that life has to
offer.
Benjamin was the perfect Master of Ceremonies,
tailoring his "Ladies & gentlemen, boys
and girls?" speech to suit the moment.
As for Hannah, she was the quintessential
birthday girl, dressed in red and eating
everything she could get her hands on.
The tragic events in New York, DC and
Pennsylvania hit each and every one of us in
different ways. We're saddened by the
tremendous loss of precious life, angered by the
senseless attack of innocent people on American
soil. And yet, we're resilient, and we will go
on. Yes, life will take a different turn.
Travel will never be the same again. We'll
be more observant in public. We will now
pay more attention to world events and become
more educated about the Middle East.
All of a sudden, things we took for granted such
nice weather and hot showers will become more
enjoyable. But as each new day brings new
photographs to cherish, new words from a 1-year
old, new questions from a 3-year old, new tastes
to discover, new places to visit, new goals to
set, and new blessings to count, we will be
comforted in the realization that as life goes
on, so does our unbreakable spirit.
Hydee Mason
10-12-2001
