Where were you on 9/11?

[Apiphobic]

We lived in Japan at the time. Dh had left that day to go TDY, and my mom had flown over to visit her newest grandchild for a couple of weeks. My youngest was a month old, and dc were asleep. I was online chatting with my cousin, and my mom was watching AFN (Armed Forces Network) in the living room. My cousin expressed shock about something on the news, so we signed off and I went into the living room to watch the news with my mom.

 

Dh's TDY was cancelled and he was back home the next day. The schools were closed, and everything went to high alert on the base. I think we were glued to the TV.

 

Where were you?

[AuntieM]

I was at home with three little kids. In southern Alabama.

 

My brother-in-law was in Boston, a flight attendant for American Airlines based out of Logan field.

 

I first heard the news over the radio as I was cleaning up in the kitchen. Unable to believe my ears, I turned on the TV to confirm the news. Right away I called DH, who called his brother. Thank the Lord, he was asleep in his bed. He was not assigned to the flight that day (but had been on previous runs).

 

I set the kids up with Veggie Tales videos for most of the morning as I watched, tears streaming down my face. I will never forget the sense of disbelief I felt. I understand why some people didn't believe the US had landed a spacecraft on the moon back in the 60's, it must have been that same surreal feeling.

[Aggie]

We were stationed on Guam. When dh went into work at 4:30am, he heard something on the news, but he couldn't figure out what exactly had happened.

 

He turned around and came home to tell me. By the time he got back to base, it was shut down *tight*.

 

The next week we watched Marines set up tent city on base, the AF base became a 24hr air show, and we hosted some submarine friends who had pulled in for some special supplies. ;)

 

It took hours to get on the bases because of the searches.

 

Oh, I had an order in to cancel cable that day. I called right at 8am and asked them to postpone that. We were glued to the tv all week, too.

 

Stacey...our youngest wasn't even 5 weeks old then.

 

ETA: my bil is a pilot for AA. My poor sis didn't know his flight schedule that day and couldn't reach him. He made an unscheduled landing in AZ. He trained with one of the pilots who flew out of Boston.

Edited September 11, 2009 by Aggie

[EKS]

I was pregnant with my younger son. We were getting ready to take the ferry to Seattle for *the* ultrasound (you know, the one where you find out the sex of the baby). We got to the ferry and found out that they were anticipating stopping service. Since we didn't want to be stuck in Seattle, we decided to cancel the appointment.

[Chris in VA]

We had just moved 3 weeks prior from Dallas to NoVa, about 20 minutes from the Pentagon, across the street from Ft. Belvoir. My husband had just started a job as head honcho at our church--

I clearly remember sending the boys to school down the road (wasn't homeschooling then) while I stayed home with the baby (now 9). The TV was on after the first plane but before the second. I saw the second hit (on TV) and felt an overwhelming sense that I needed to "get out." I packed up dd and went to the library, of all places! Just had a sense that I needed to fit something in to my schedule, to get one more thing done, before all hel broke loose. While there, I saw the report about the Pa plane (library's TV was on).

 

Dh called the members of our congregation who worked at the Penta, and everyone was ok. One worked in the section where the plane hit, but hadn't been in the office because of renovations.

 

I watched TV most of the day. When the boys came home, I gently told them what had happened. We kept the TV on, but I ended up turning it off because I didn't want them to be afraid. We were extremely aware that we were suddenly living very, very close to the "epicenter" of our nation, and, should Washington come under attack, we probably would be in the thick of it.

 

We had a service the next day or the day after that. It was so big, we had to have it outside, and our church seats about 350.

 

Even tho planes were not flying, we kept hearing planes take off from Ft. Belvoir, and wondered if they would be fending off attacks or running some sort of military exercise or actual engagements. It was pretty scary and a little eerie, to tell the truth.

 

If it happened today, I would go and get my kids--I just didn't realize the impact.

 

The next year, we had the sniper attacks--it was just a crummy way to start our lives here!

[Blessedfamily]

Driving up I-95 one county down from the Pentagon, on my way to the bank. When I got there the tellers were looking shocked and told me what happened.

[Crissy]

I was at home in bed (we are on the West coast).

 

My parents were visiting my aunt in Missouri and my sister and her family were at Disneyland.

 

My mom called shortly after the second plane struck and said, "You have to turn on the TV. They're flying planes into buildings!"

She was hysterical and I couldn't comprehend much that she was saying. My husband and I turned on the television and I was glued to it for the next three days. I did nothing but stare at that screen and cry.

 

To avoid air travel my parents stayed an extra week with my aunt, and my sister's family rented a car and drove home.

Edited September 11, 2009 by Crissy

[teeleigh2000]

We were living in Sarasota, FL at the time. President Bush was visiting a local elementary school in our neighborhood that morning. So all of the first moments of coverage of the president getting the news happened near our house.

[snickelfritz]

The teachers kept sneaking to the computer for updates while trying not to let on to the kids that anything was wrong.

 

I had a 1st grade nature field trip scheduled and, after talking to parents, we decided to go. We really wanted to keep things as normal as possible until parents could decide how/if they wanted to tell their kids. I can remember parents coming in to drive the kids (private school) and everybody standing around with red eyes trying to act normal and failing miserably.

 

Then I went home and sat on my couch and sobbed as I watched the news reports.

[Joker]

I was home with my youngest dd and put a video in for her on the older tv. I called dh, he came home and we watched the coverage all day. I remember not being able to sleep that night because everyone involved could not simply turn off their tv and close their eyes (why should I be able to). I also remember 9 months later giving birth to my second dd. Labor and delivery was full and I didn't make the connection until the nurse explained.

[Stacia]

I was doing some contract writing work & had to go into the office that day. So, I was sitting in morning traffic when I heard the djs on the radio talking about it. One of them was a small-plane pilot & he was talking/watching (as they were watching tv) as the second plane went into the WTC. He said there was no way it was an accident, etc.... (This was still so early on that everything was very confused & uncertain as to what was really unfolding.) Anyway, I don't think I'll forget his description of what was unfolding visually.

 

It was chilling. I was in a small office that day w/ a few other workers. We worked some, but also watched tv a little bit & different family members would call in every once in awhile w/ updates. It was a very somber mood that day.

[nukeswife]

I was at my base house in Newport RI. My dh was on base and had just flown home from Bahrain about 3 weeks earlier, the ship he flew home from was turned around while on transit home from a six month deployment and spent 2 more months in the Persian Gulf.

 

I remember many of my relatives calling to ask if DH was ok and had I heard from him. To which I had to keep answering "If you all don't stop calling I can't tell you because he can't get through on the phone"

[elegantlion]

My dh and I had just sold our home and were temporarily living in my parent's basement. I was listening to the radio and thought the morning show was being goofy until I turned on the TV. DH was already at work so I called him, he already knew. I woke up my parents and we sat stunned in front of the TV for hours, maybe days.

 

We had just put a contract on a house but up until that point I had felt very despondent about having to live with my parents at our age. I was very glad to be with my family that morning.

 

My ds turned 4 a few days later.

[LucyMcGillicuddy]

I was at home waiting with my two older children for my friend to come babysit them so I could go to the OB/GYN to confirm whether or not I was pregnant. When I left the house, only one plane had hit. When I got to the dr. office, no one was sure what was going on. I found out that I was indeed pregnant.

 

It's still strange to think about that on that day I was finding out that I was going to be welcoming a new life into the world while so many others lost theirs.

[brinkseven]

My husband was training at Fort Leanard Wood for the summer. We were living off post in this little trailer park right off the main drag. We only had 2 children at the time...a 2 1/2 yr. old ds and 11 month old dd. We didn't have any television and a neighbor whose husband was at OBC called me to tell me what happened. I remember walking to her home with the kids still in pajamas to watch the news. Both of our husbands couldn't leave post for 3 days. I remember leaving to get groceries and my husband calling me to get home and stay put. I remember being glued to our little radio. Later that fall we both PCSed to Germany where our husbands deployed.

 

As a side note...A Confederacy of Dunces is one of my favorite books..and my husband has been deployed since April.

[Mommyof4ks]

I was on my way home from swim class and I heard on the radio what was happening. At first I thought it was a sick joke (even though the radio station I was listening to would never do that). Then I noticed that there were NO cars on the road as I was crossing the dam near our house. No cars for 15 minutes from the college to my house. It was very scary. I could not get to my 15 month old fast enough once I realized what was going on.

[TN Mama]

I am just copying/pasting my post from last year, but I will say, I'm still emotional every year. I cried tonight watching Harry Connick, Jr. sing the National Anthem before the Titans/Steelers game. Family members of those who died on flt 93 were on the field wearing Steelers jerseys with the number 93 on them.

 

Posted last Sept:

It has been very emotional reading all of your accounts from that day. For me it is hard to believe that it's been 7 years. I remember it all so vividly. My husband was at work and I was home with Bella who was just 6 months old. I was watching my guilty pleasure (7th Heaven) and on a commercial I flipped over to the Today Show just before plane number 2 crashed into the WTC. For a few minutes I was very confused.

 

I tried calling my stepdad who was always traveling. His secretary hesitated and told me that he was in NYC. It wasn't until the next day that I found out he did NOT go to New York and that he was fine.

 

We live about 20 minutes from an airport and it isn't the silence that I remember so much, but when planes started flying again... I'll never forget throwing myself onto my living room floor when I heard a plane go overhead for the first time since that Tuesday morning. People who know me have a hard time picturing that because I'm not one who worries or is easily disturbed. 9/11 was different. I cried for weeks on and off... hearing stories about people who had died, hearing stories from families who hadn't given up hope but hadn't heard from their loved ones... ugh.

 

On the first anniversary there was a big blood drive downtown and I took Bella and lined up to give blood. They gave out ribbons of red, white & blue with the name of someone who had died that day. I still have mine tied around the rearview mirror in my van.

[Denisemomof4]

at home, in my pj's, with my two boys and baby daughter. I watched the plane go into the tower (late start on school that day) and then we lost power. I went mad trying to find our battery operated radio, then heard many, many reports for hours to come that were scary, fabricated, and horrific. Of course many were scary, horrific and TRUE, too.

 

I called dh at work, and he stopped his meeting. Everyone in the room turned to a computer and they all sat and watched it all live, right there in the conference room. I called several times crying, asking him to come home. He finally did.

 

I was so scared for one of my best friends. I was so afraid he died that day. When I couldn't reach him, I feared the worst. Dh and I were numb all day. He finally called at 9:15 that night, crying. He told me he watched both planes crash into the twin towers right from his office window. He was in a state of panic and shock because his sister Rosanne hadn't been heard from all day (she introduced us and Matthew is like a brother to dh and I, uncle to my kids). I talked to him every single day there after, it was heart wrenching. They remained hopeful for at least a month. It was a couple of days after the attack that he realized that his nephew had visited the twin towers that day. Rosanne and her nephew both died that day. Matthew suffered severe PTSD and went through years of treatment. He hasn't worked on 9/11 since and I know he won't tomorrow. It's still very, very difficult on him and his entire family.

 

The parents "buried" their daughter and grandson. Nothing but keepsakes from each of the family members filled the coffins.

 

Every 9/11 since then I still cry. I cry for my friend and I cry as I relive that day over again. I also cry because my family very easily could have been on one of those planes. We had 3 weeks to choose from to go to HI with my parents, we chose the week before. Had we chosen that week, our entire family would be gone. Our exact flight, one week later, is one of the planes that struck. I also cry because right after we got back from HI I was going to be home for a couple of days and then fly out to IL for my grandmother to meet my daughter. The airports were closed and we cancelled our trip. I was too afraid to fly and my grandmother didn't want me to. I never saw her again.

 

Siiiiiiiiigh. It's still such a tough day for me, and yet I am one of the lucky ones.

Edited September 11, 2009 by Denisemomof4

[Kate in Arabia]

We were living in Chicago. My mil and a sil were visiting from Saudi for the birth of my 2nd ds. Dh worked next to the Sears Tower, they closed his building that day because of its proximity.

 

My dad called that morning and asked me not to leave the house.. a neighbor came by and said he was leaving the door to his garage unlocked, in case we needed a safe place.

[Garga]

On the evening of Sept 10th, my dh and I decided to officially try to have kids and I stopped taking birth control pills. I was going to call my mom on the 11th and let her know the good news.

 

On the morning of the 11th, I was leading a meeting at work, telling my coworkers about some company updates. In the middle of the meeting, a coworker popped his head in the door to tell us about the first plane.

 

Then, someone interrupted the meeting to tell us about the 2nd plane.

 

The boss wouldn't let us stop the meeting. I was trying to talk (since I was leading it) but my voice was shaking.

 

Then when someone told us about the pentagon, one woman in the meeting burst into tears and ran from the room because her dh was working there that day (he was ok.)

 

And the boss STILL made us finish the meeting! What was she thinking?! Who knows what I said at that meeting, since I sure couldn't think straight. I just remember saying, "Ummmm" a lot. And I'm sure that no one listening to me took in a word I said. It was ridiculous.

 

It was frightening to have just decided to have a baby and then the world went crazy the very next day. It made us nervous about our decision to bring a child into this world. We were married for 10 years with NO desire for kids, so our decision to have children is a little different from people who have wanted kids their whole lives--we could have easily changed our minds without a lot of anguish. We went ahead with our plans and on Sept 12th of the next year our precious boy was born. (And I've NEVER regretted having my sweet babies! If I'd had known how precious they'd be, I wouldn't have wasted those 10 years of marriage without having kids.)

[AmeliaJade]

We were in Japan too. We just had one son at that time. He was a year old and sleeping. We were up late, on our computers. My husband was playing a computer game and I was chatting with a friend of mine who had been working the night shift. He was at work but was getting off work and heading home and said he'd log back on when he got home. A little while later he logs on again and tells me to turn on the news. So, I tell hubby and we go over and turn it on. At that point just the one plane had hit the WTC. As we watched we saw the second one hit. I remember being in complete shock. Once they reported that a plane had also hit the Pentagon, I felt I was going to be sick. It was just all so unreal. I called my brother and my mom. I remember it was difficult getting a line off base that night. It took some time to get through. I then went downstairs to check on my neighbor. Her husband was working the night shift so I was worried about her being home alone. She was prone to panic attacks and I was sure she was probably still up and watching what was going on. I was right. We stayed up until like 3 a.m. watching news coverage.

[Ibbygirl]

I was home with my kids. My son was an infant at the time. I was busy with them when my mom called me from work and told me that something had happened. She said we had been bombed or something and told me to turn on the news and tell her what was going on. I turned on the news and saw the first tower smoking and the second plane crashed into the second tower while I watched. I couldn't believe it! I told my mom and she was in shock. I live near the airport and I remember how quiet it was that night because all of the planes were grounded. Then I heard some military planes flying over head, most likely they were flying north from Homestead Air Force base and I remember thinking that it wasn't all just a dream that it really did happen. :(

[mrscopterdoc]

We were stationed on a little navy base in Puerto Rico [hubby is Army] and he was deployed in some unmentionable South American country. I was driving home from the grocery store and my neighbor called me to tell me a plane had hit the twin towers. I thought she had lost her mind. I got home in time to turn on the TV and see the first tower fall. I didn't hear from hubby for 3 weeks.

[dirty ethel rackham]

I was at home with my 3 kids. I don't remember what I was doing when I received a phone call from dh tellling me what happened. I turned on the TV and could not turn it off. I kept trying to keep the kids out of the room so they wouldn't see, but they were bored. So, we went outside and all the neighbors started coming outside. We all noted how eerie it was that this beautiful sunshiny day with only wisps of clouds in the sky was silent. No planes.

 

I heard from my mom that my sister was flying that day - to Washington. We didn't know if it was Washington state or DC. We breathed a sigh of relief when we heard that she was renting a car to drive to Vancouver. That night, I watched the footage over and over again. I just could not drag myself away from the TV.

[newlifemom]

I was living on LI at the time. Dh worked for a traffic company and was commuting to NJ every day. Early on into his working there, I realized if I watched the Today show at just the right time, (NY traffic report) I could see the back of his head. Every day I turned on the TV with dd who was 3 at the time and instead of dh's head I saw smoke and airplanes and chaos. The weird thing was that prior to getting married, I had had a dream where NYC was bombed and dh was on one side and I was on the other. My dream had come true. I cannot tell you how scared I was. My girlfriend's dh was also stuck in NJ so I went over there for the day. We let the kids watch movies downstairs and kept going upstairs to watch the news. I didn't lose anyone close to me, or anyone I even knew for that matter, but I knew a lot of people who lost loved ones and/or who lived through it with serious PTSD. My friend's sister who worked in one of the periperal buildings watched people falling to their death. She hasn't been the same since. As a pp stated, it is surreal. You hear about these things. You know, Pearl Harbor, JFK things that really shape and make a nation, but don't really expect it to happen to you.

 

Each year I tell dd a little more about what happened. She'll be 11 soon. Life goes on and yet, still sad.

[babysparkler]

I was home on my first day of bedrest with a threatened miscarriage... talk about not needing stress! Dh took the day off of work to be with me and the toddler. My BIL called to tell us to turn on the news, and we thought he was kidding. We spent the week glued to the TV, praying and grieving for those families (and in particular, the pregnant wives of those who died that day since that hit so close to my heart) and praying for God to keep my baby alive. (She is now a beautifully healthy little 7 year old!)

[plain jane]

I was at home waiting with my two older children for my friend to come babysit them so I could go to the OB/GYN to confirm whether or not I was pregnant. When I left the house, only one plane had hit. When I got to the dr. office, no one was sure what was going on. I found out that I was indeed pregnant.

 

It's still strange to think about that on that day I was finding out that I was going to be welcoming a new life into the world while so many others lost theirs.

 

That was my sentiment too. I was at the OB's office when I first heard the news. They had these TINY TV's hanging from the ceiling and no volume.:glare: It was incredibly surreal at first and I didn't know if it was for real or not because I could not hear what was going on.:001_huh: Oddly enough, there was nobody else in the waiting room and no nurses around so it took some time before dh and I realized what we were really seeing. I'll never forget that morning.

[FO4UR]

I was in college, on my way to English Lit when I heard the news in the car.

[Word Nerd]

I was working as an editor at a publishing company. When I got in to work, my office mate mentioned hearing something on the radio about a plane crashing into the towers. I tried to find out what was going on online, but apparently so was everyone else and the connection kept timing out. The head of our department said we could go upstairs to the conference room and watch the news coverage, so we did that for a while. After both towers collapsed, we all stood there in silence, and then we were released to go home if we wanted. One of my coworkers was very worried about a cousin who worked in one of the buildings and later learned that she was killed. I couldn't get home to my 2-month-old baby fast enough and spent the rest of the day watching the coverage with my sister (who was also my child care provider at the time).

 

:grouphug: to those who lost loved ones that day.

[ciyates]

I was in Sigonella Sicily on the phone with my bank stateside trying to see if our advance pay had made it into the bank. We were set to PSC that week. Within a few hours the base was on lockdown, my DH was set up in a sniper position on the base and we were not allowed to turn on lights or leave our base housing.

[Stacy in NJ]

during the late '90's I worked for a firm on the 73rd floor of tower two. 17 of my prior co-workers we're killed on 9/11.

 

I'll be praying for their families tomorrow.

[Loupelou]

Kai, we must have been close to each other, I was in Kingston,WA.

 

I was just getting up for the day, dh had left for work- he called me to turn on the news. I started calling my family to let them know. I just remember a day of raw emotion, and how surreal it all seemed.

[Sebastian (a lady)]

I spent most of the day watching the Pentagon smoke plume from my backyard and trying to glean from neighbors arriving home early just where the plane had hit in relation to dh's office. When I wasn't worrying that my college roommate/maid of honor was flying on one of the United flights (she was a new pilot without an established route).

 

It was six hours before I heard from dh. It was midnight before he was home. We lost eight friends at the Pentagon, seven from a conference room dh had left about 10 minutes earlier. The staff in his office had to divide up who went to which funerals, because they couldn't all attend them all.

 

You know, I thought that this year would be a year where I could go to one of the rememberance ceremonies on base. When I could sit and tell my kids the story of that day. I sort of got busy and forgot about it. Then we drove past the chapel and saw fire trucks and folks in uniform and the color guard and the bagpipers lined up for a march through the base and my gut just clenched up.

[BikeBookBread]

I was sitting in a hotel room in Spokane, WA watching in disbelief. My DH was stationed at Hill AFB in Utah at the time...he'd only been in the USAF for 3 months, and I was commuting by plane between Utah and Spokane weekly -- flying out of SLC on Sunday nights, flying back home to SLC on Friday mornings. When I flew back home on Friday the 14th, I flew out on one of the first planes to leave Spokane. It was a strange feeling.

 

ETA: Oh, 9/11 is also my DH's birthday, so I had gotten up extra early to call and wish him a happy birthday first thing in the morning given the time difference. I was awake watching The Today Show live and I saw the 2nd plane hit as it happened. Still seems like yesterday. Surreal. I'm even remembering details as I type this.

Edited September 11, 2009 by BikeBookBread
remembering more...

[Lilymax]

My then 3 y.o. and I had finished breakfast and he was watching Nick Jr. while I logged on to a mom's message board I've been a member of for ages. The first post was that a plane had crashed into the WTC...it was posted just minutes after it happened.

 

I got DS busy with toys in his room and turned on the news. I called DH at work and they were all watching it on the TV in the breakroom. I thought it was just a terrible accident. But then, like so many of us, I saw it live when the second plane hit. And I don't know when I've felt more raw horror than at that moment...I remember whispering to myself "They're using our own planes to kill us." It just seemed unbelievable.

 

The rest of the day was a blur of emotion, talking to people, and watching the coverage. Like many of the women here, I was a few months pregnant with our second child, and I remember putting my hands on my belly instinctively, protectively when I saw that second plane hit and realized the world that this child would be born into.

 

DH, who was a reservist in the National Guard, came home and said that it was no longer a question of "if" he'd deploy, but when. He was right. He left for Iraq on our second child's first birthday.

[Mrs Mungo]

Apiphobic, my story is very similar to your own. I was living in Germany. My husband (who was in command at the time) had gone TDY that morning. It was late afternoon and I was working on my FRG rosters when my downstairs neighbor knocked on my door. She just said "turn on your TV." I turned it on just as the second plane hit the building. We watched for a few seconds then turned to each other and both said "we're at war."

 

In the meantime the van my husband was riding in with the battalion commander and other company commanders came alive with ringing phones. They stopped at the next town, watched on a tv for a bit then turned around to head back to post.

 

Back on post the base went on high alert. We were told not to leave post. We had a service at the chapel after dark.

[Barb_]

We were in SE Oklahoma at the 2001. I was 38 weeks pregnant with my 5th child. It was a gorgeous day out there as well and I'd guiltily sent the kids out to play instead of starting our homeschooling day. But I reasoned I was tired and it wouldn't hurt to take the last couple of weeks of my pregnancy off. I believe I was actually logged on to the WTM message boards when my mom called and told me that she wasn't really sure what was going on, but a plane had flown into a building in New York. On one hand it looked like an accident, but that there was no hesitation by the pilot and she didn't see how it could have been. Like many others, I turned on the TV in time to see the other plane hit.

 

I watched for 30 or 45 minutes and could feel myself being pulled in. I was unhealthily glued to the TV during the Oklahoma City bombing in '95 and am still haunted by the picture of the firefighter holding the dying toddler, her sock falling off. I had a 10 month old at the time and the whole thing sent me into a spiral of anxious depression that hadn't completely worn off. I decided to cut the TV off and protect myself and my unborn baby. So as a consequence, I have few memories of the following days.

 

My husband was headed to SE PA a couple of months later to start a new job and I remembered being unreasonably afraid that the attacks weren't over and something would happen while we were there. I felt safer in the middle of the country.

 

Barb

[Sugarfoot]

We were at DisneyLand. After a few days, it was clear that the airport wouldn't be re-opened any time soon, so we rented a car, bought car seats, and drove home---to Kansas. It was surreal. We met people like us all along the way.

[Amy in TX]

My dh was on his way to work, and called me from his car. He told me to turn on the news because people were crashing planes. I was in time to see the towers falling, and realized that I was seeing thousands of people die.

 

My Mom called and we agreed that my sister should NOT fly in to visit us the next day as had been planned.

 

My BIL called and told me not to go out alone (I'm a scarf-wearing Muslim). My Dad called and begged me not to leave the house with "that thing" on my head. My dh called again and asked if I wanted him to come home.

 

SIL found out that a family friend's son was in one of the Towers that day.

 

I had two sick kids who had to go to the doctor. My Dad went with us.

 

On the phone, on the phone, on the phone, don't leave the house, don't leave the house, don't leave the house...

[Cera]

I was on the operating table. My husband was in submarine school at NSB New London and I had opted to have an orthopedic surgery with a nerve block rather than general anesthesia so that I could be released on my own rather than to someone (he couldn't miss his class and the surgery really couldn't wait). About 15 minutes in a nurse came in, whispered something to the doctor and other nurses and stepped out. A few minutes after that she came back (the second plane had hit) and told me what was going on then stood halfway in the door relaying news while the doctor operated. They released me directy from the surgical suite rather than sending me to recovery. I made it back on to base less than an hour before they closed completely and couldn't leave for 6 days.

[Alice]

I was driving to Home Depot to buy paint when I heard about the first plane on the radio. At that point everyone was reporting it as a horrible accident but didn't have much in the way of details. I came home and turned on the TV and heard about the second plane. I was home from work that day and was painting our kitchen so pretty much kept the TV on all day. I was all alone and remember it as just a surreal day. Watching the images on TV and not really believing it could actually be happening.

 

We live in NOVA and there were 4 members of our small church (about 40 people at that time) working at the Pentagon that day. When the plane hit the Pentagon people started calling each other with updates. Dh called a lot from his work where they were pretty much all watching all day in their conference room. The church memebers at the Pentagon all got out safe. One of them was a very good friend of mine who ended up taking hours to get home so hadn't been heard from. I didn't want to call his wife to check, as I knew lots of people would be calling her and wanted to not tie up her phone lines. I waited and called in the early afternoon. Patrick answered the phone and I just broke down in tears. I think until that moment I hadn't realized how worried I was but when I heard his voice it became real.

 

Later in the afternoon many people ended up at the chuch for a time of prayer.

[Laura Corin]

I was in Hong Kong, watching it happen on television in the evening. Husband was on his way home for work by ferry. Calvin had just started school a few days before.

 

Laura

Edited September 11, 2009 by Laura Corin

[lauracolumbus]

I had two littles and had turned on the computer and saw a news flash as to what was happening. I turned on the TV b4 the second plane hit and just sat there glued the rest of the day. We had just moved from the No. VA and NYC area two years b4 (commuter marriage). My office tower overlooked the Pentagon and dh's subway stop was WTC.

 

I can't remember how I kept the kids occupied that day so I could watch everything, but I remember at one point shutting the tv off thinking I couldn't bear to watch another minute of it. DH came home from work early and suggested we go fill up our tank and get food supplies. A lot of other ppl had the same idea.

 

Laura

[hsmamainva]

We lived in Southern Maryland at the time. I was 5 months pregnant with my youngest, and I was homeschooling my then 2nd grader and 5th grader. My then 2yo was watching Mr. Rogers on TV to keep him quiet and entertained so I didn't know anything was wrong.

 

My hubby had heard about it on the radio. He had been at one of the naval bases in the area (he's a government contractor) and had JUST left through the main gate when the first plane hit the tower. He had stopped for coffee at the 7-Eleven and heard about the second plane and that's when he knew it wasn't an accident.

 

For the next hour, he had been trying to call me, but, in the Washington DC area, all the phones were down. You couldn't call anyone. So he hadn't been able to reach me. (He told me later that, had he spent just 10 more minutes at the naval base, he would've been locked in there, as all the gates were ordered closed).

 

Meanwhile, at home, we were doing our history lesson and I happened to look up and I could see my husband's truck come screeching into the driveway and he ran into the house. My hubby is a big man! 6' tall - 280 pounds. He doesn't 'run' anywhere.

 

He asked if I knew what had happened and I'm like..."Umm..no. Mr. Rogers is on TV and everything's fine in HIS neighborhood."

 

He told me what had happened, but it just didn't register! I couldn't believe it until we turned on CNN.

 

:(

[NicksMama-Zack's Mama Too]

and taking care of my kids. Typical AM in my house. My bf called to see if I had heard or seen anything about an airplane crashing into the World Trade Center. I told her no, but perhaps it was a news traffic aircraft.

 

Then on the radio, a commuter reported an airplane had crashed into the Pentagon. The commuter called in had their sunroof open and had a piece of the aircraft land on her passenger seat.

 

Then, my I called my dh and he watched the second plane hit the tower while he was on the phone with me. Right after I hung up with him, my mom called (she worked right down from the White House in DC) and told me she was on the road and headed to my house (in Manassas). Those were the last two phone calls I could make that day - the lines were busy or down all through the area. I kept my kids from the tv (we had one down in the basement). I remember feeling so helpless. I lived in the flight plan of Dulles and the silence in the sky was so erie. I remember seeing Air Force I flying over.

 

A year later, we dealt with the Beltway Sniper -- that was almost worse as it was a slow, prolonged stress that overcame all of us in the area.

 

I saved the newspapers for the day and plan on sharing them with my children as we study modern times this year.

 

K

[momofkhm]

or right after. I had dropped oldest at first grade and youngest (now middle) at preschool, gone running and then home. I watched part of GMA then upstairs to shower. I came down and started reading a message board at iVillage. I saw people posting about what was going on in New York. I remember thinking "nothing. I just had the TV on!" But I turned it on anyway. I saw and was shocked.

 

We live in a flight line. It's not unusual to hear airplanes overhead. So much that we just tune it out. I didn't notice the absence of airplane noise, but it was really odd the day they started flying again!

[Pamela H in Texas]

I had just walked home from walking my kids (and nephew) to school (they went for 8 weeks). I turned on GMA and saw the second plane hit. I still can't articulate the feeling.

[gingersmom]

I was standing in my kitchen watching the news on a little 9 inch black and white television. My daughter was due to start kindergarten the next day (it was cancelled).

 

I was in such disbelief when I heard the news that I immediately called my mother in New York City. She thought I was crazy till she put on the news. It was very scary as I also have two brothers that work in New York City.

 

After that I ran to the foodstore to stock up on food as they said they were closing the bridges, etc. The clerk at the foodstore had not heard the news yet and thought I was crazy.

 

It was a very scary time. I lived very very close to New York City so while I luckily did not know anyone personally who died I know lots of people who worked as rescuers.

[Renee in NC]

I was at home in NC with my 2yo and pregnant with my 3rd child. We always watched Little House on the Prairie and there was no news on that channel. My mother called and said planes were crashing into buildings. I changed the channel and spent the next 3 days watching CNN. I didn't see it until after the 2nd plane had crashed, but I remember how horrified I was to see the buildings crash down. I just couldn't comprehend that this was real!

 

I still get teary-eyed watching anything about it.

[Pajama Mama]

It was ds10's 2nd bday. We lived in Delaware-not far from Dover A.F.B. My mom was coming for ds's bday. We were going to take my 4 yo and 2 yo sons out for ds's bday. I had a Barney tape on for the kids so I had no clue. My mom arrived around 9 something and said that one plane had hit one of the towers. We put on the news and saw the 2nd plane hit. We obviously didn't take the boys out. Since we were so close to Dover A.F.B. the roads were closed-all roads, highways, etc. So mom and I spent the day at my house with the boys-glued to the TV. We weren't sure if she would be allowed to go home that evening. She was allowed to go home by about 6 PM.

 

We didn't celebrate ds10's bday out in public the next year. It didn't seem right. We had a small party at home. I just had to change my signature. I can't believe my son is 10 today.