September 11, 2001...where were you that morning?

[kmacnchs]

Walking to my 1st class (English 101), freshman year of college. Someone told me on the way...I still went to class b/c you never know...

 

I was in Greensboro, NC

[sbgrace]

I was at the end of my prep hour as a teacher and walked past the study hall room to see everyone staring at the tv which was unusual. I saw the buildings and a student told me what had happened and that we were "under attack" if I remember correctly. I recall feeling shock, sadness for the people affected in those buildings and their loved ones, and fear as well initially. I believe the buildings had already collapsed when I found out about it and the Pentagon of course. I think there was still fear about additional planes at that time.

 

The bell rang and my 9th graders would be coming in so I had to get myself together. I was trying to figure out how to tell them because I knew some wouldn't have known yet and I felt my words would stick in their memories. Anyway, I wanted to do it calmly, gently, right. I have no idea what I said. I remember watching them file in and thinking their lives had changed. I grew up afraid of the Soviet Union and nuclear war. They grew up in a world where those kinds of fears hadn't touched them. So things had changed for them. For everyone. I feel most sad for those children who lost a parent that day.

Edited September 13, 2010 by sbgrace

[BeckyFL]

It was a normal homeschool day. We were doing Bible and a friend called to tell us to turn on the TV. It ended up to be history time, unfortunately, and we were watching as it happened.

[Guest Cindie2dds]

I was sleeping in because I was fortunate enough to have come in from my trip the night before. My mom called and woke me up to turn on the television. I still mourn my friends and colleagues and my job that will never be the same. I actually flew a trip over this weekend. It was hard, but I am so glad so many people still remember. I will never forget.

[JoyfulMama]

I was living in Allentown, PA, about 2 hours or so from NYC. Lots of people in my neighborhood had ties there, or grew up there and later moved to PA for more affordable housing.

...

 

I was in Allentown, getting off the highway when the radio DJ's interrupted the playing song to report that a plane had flown into the WTC. It was my day off, but I had dd with me, and we were going to stop in my office quickly, then head to the party store to order balloons. I sat on the off ramp, at a red light trying to figure out if I should turn around and go home. I decided that if the world didn't end, I would still need balloons for dd's 1st birthday party on Saturday. My SIL had agreed to pick them up for me, and so I ordered them in Allentown, where she lived. As I walked into my office, they were just turning on the radio. When I walked into the party store, they had the radio on as well. As I was paying for the balloon order, dh called me on my cell and asked me to come directly home.

When I got home, dh asked if I would be called into work, as the hospital I worked at was on alert to accept people from NYC. I had just changed jobs, so was no longer working ED/inpatient.

That evening I walked to the church nearest to our house with dd for a prayer service. Dh had to go to work, and had very few staff that came in. Just before I snuggled dd to bed, she built her own tower of blocks. Her first tower built, as prior she preferred to just knock mine down.

 

On Saturday, we held the birthday party as planned, and had many unexpected guests join us. My grandparents drove in from NC, my brother flew in from CA, my dh's aunt and uncle drove in from MA. There was a need to be able to embrace those you loved.

[Annabel Lee]

I was sleeping; my whole family was - it was 5 a.m. in my timezone when my MIL called. I thought another family member had died for her to be calling that early since there had already been some unexpected deaths of extended family that summer. So, I answered the phone already with trepidation & a sick feeling in my gut. She just kept saying "We're being attacked! We're being attacked!" frantically. I couldn't comprehend what she meant - I thought she meant her home was being invaded by ants or roaches; then she blurted "TURN ON YOUR TV!!"

 

It's all sort of a blur after that. The military base I was living on went onto the highest alert level and cars were backed up for miles on the freeway trying to get in. I couldn't get home after picking up my dd from school that afternoon, and my now 9yo was 9 mos. old, and he needed diapers, food, etc. I couldn't wait 4 hours in line in the car. So I parked the car off-base at a stranger's house who was happy to help out a military family and we walked - me with the carseat, diaper bag, and baby in my arms and my dd tired, hot, & hungry. I couldn't get in touch w/ my dh at work and didn't know what was going on. There were many others walking home to get on base as well; we were all sort of in a state of shock. I think we all knew life had just changed but we didn't know exactly how and were scared of it.

 

The next 3 years were full of stressful events directly stemming from that day. "Secret missions" at work that my dh couldn't tell me about at the time, involving going out of the country; weird, untested vaccinations given to my dh in preparation to go to war that he shouldn't have been given since I was PG again at the time; being alone w/ small children & PG, wondering if my dh would come home or not. I know that all of us w/ loved ones getting deployed went/go through this. It was just hard.

 

My kids have never known life w/o a war going on. I just asked my 14 yo if she remembers life w/o it, and she can't. The horror displayed over and over on TV for weeks afterwards still plays in my mind when I think about it; esp. the people jumping from windows too high up to live through the fall - I'm crying as I type this. My heart goes out to all the families who lost loved ones.

[IsabelC]

I was at work, in a small call center in the North of London. It was ages before I realized what had happened, as I initially misunderstood and thought that it had been some kind of accident. Later on it sunk in a bit more. We all got sent home from work early and didn't want to go on the Underground as they were half expecting a coordinated attack on London.

[Baseball mom]

It was bright and sunny. I hadn't even turned on the tv that day. I was doing some minor cleaning while the baby napped and the 3yr old played. My friend was out doing some errands and heard on the radio about the 1st tower getting hit. She was near my house so she stopped. She came in the door saying "Turn on your tv. Something terrible is happening."

 

We just sat on the couch watching. Shocked beyond words. The baby woke but stayed very quiet and 3yr old crawled up near me. Continued to play quietly but sat very near me.

[Miss Sherry]

I was in the kitchen doing some cleaning up and my two oldest were working on some of their school work. My husband called to tell me about the first tower so I turned on the TV and my children and I saw it live when the second tower was hit. It was obvious when the second tower was hit that it couldn't possibly have been an accident so it was very emotional to see and I just yelled out NOOOOOOO, realizing the building and plane must be packed with people.

 

We were planning on having a birthday party for my dd, who turned 5 that day, but it was such a tragic event for our country that it just wasn't fitting to have a birthday party so I postponed the party for two weeks.

 

My oldest daughter, who was a teenager at the time, and I , baked cookies to give to her friends later that day. We wanted to provide a homey place for her friends from the neighborhood to come to when they got off of the ps bus.

Several of them did come over and hang around in our back yard. The girls just sat around talking and the boys used their skate boards.

We have a video tape of that day, with all of the kids in our back yard.

 

I remember seeing the fighter jets flying over that day. They were of course an awesome , welcome sight. There's a base not far from where we lived at the time. Since all other planes had been banned from flying anymore that day, the fighter jets were the only thing in the sky.

Edited September 13, 2010 by Miss Sherry

[mom4knights]

I was working as an auditor for a CPA firm in Kansas City, MO. I had gone to work early that day and was so focused on work that I hadn't even paid attention to my radio when one of my co-workers ran over to tell me what they heard on the radio. Word spread fast and we all went to a conference room and watched on the TV. We were allowed to leave early b/c of the possible threats to all federal buildings and we were right next to several downtown. Dh and I had only been married a few years and had no kids but we had been looking for a puppy and found one the next day. We are always reminded of the attack when we think about first getting our pup, Hunter.

 

My mom is a librarian at a private school and their juniors were on a trip in DC - they were actually at the Capitol when it happened. They were on the bus trying to leave town when they saw the plane hit the Pentagon!

[Miss Sherry]

....................

 

My mom is a librarian at a private school and their juniors were on a trip in DC - they were actually at the Capitol when it happened. They were on the bus trying to leave town when they saw the plane hit the Pentagon!

"They were on the bus trying to leave town when they saw the plane hit the Pentagon" Thanks for sharing this bit of information. I do get tired of hearing all of the ridiculous conspiracy theories, such as the goofy one that our government actually hit the Pentagon with a missile. Good grief. I really have not patience for people who make these types of accusations. :tongue_smilie:

[Mrs Mungo]

"They were on the bus trying to leave town when they saw the plane hit the Pentagon" Thanks for sharing this bit of information. I do get tired of hearing all of the ridiculous conspiracy theories, such as the goofy one that our government actually hit the Pentagon with a missile. Good grief. I really have not patience for people who make these types of accusations. :tongue_smilie:

 

The crazy thing about that is that traffic around DC is *crazy* that time of day. *Hundreds* of people saw the plane hit the building!

[QuirkyKapers]

I was at Mops. They showed us what was happening on big screen tv. My son was 3 months old. My husband was in pitts. He drove home immediately. I will never forget how silent it was when the planes stopped flying.

[mlktwins]

I was working about a mile from the Pentagon (in Rosslyn) when the plane hit. My boyfriend at the time (now DH) was on an overnight business trip to NY City and had just checked ouf of his hotel. He was thinking to himself what a beautiful semi-fall day it was on his walk to work. He found out about the attack when he got to the office. My employer announced everyone was to go home immediatly when the Pentagon was hit and to prepare to work at home for a few days. I was lucky I got out early and missed the major traffice jams. DH was able to catch the last train our of NY for DC and I drove into DC to pick him up around 10 pm. What a weird feeling to be driving into DC and NO cars/people were hustling and bustling around like usual. I had to drive fairly close by the Penagon and just saw lots of lights and smoke against the dark sky. A day I will never forget...

[dani3boys]

I was at home with all three boys. I watched the tv all day long.

The worst part was four days later when we had to drive BIL to the airport because he had just finished his basic training and was heading to Norfolk to begin his six years in the Navy. We went into the airport with him, and it was so quiet in there. It was definitely a scary time.

[sleepymommy]

Don't know if it's already been posted, there was a thread like this last year.

 

http://www.welltrainedmind.com/forums/showthread.php?t=127272&highlight=9%2F11

 

I was in Queens and my dh (boyfriend at the time) was one of the first response down to Ground Zero.

[Ruby]

My daughter and I just watched a show about the after effects of the workers who spent time near ground zero and their health. I was just curious if you dh has had any lingering health concerns after being there?

[dripdripsplat]

I was running around trying to get ready for a Dr. appointment, when my DH started yelling for me to come into the living room. He had just seen the footage of the first plane hitting the WTC. As I entered the room, we both watched, on live TV, as the second plane hit. It still gives me chills. My dad lived in PA, kind of close to the crash site of Flight 93, and we spent the entire day trying to get a hold of him, not sure if him and his wife were okay. It was definitely one of the highest emotion days of my life.

[KidsHappen]

This was the one year that my kids decided to try school so I had just gotten them off to school when my hubby called and told me to turn on the TV. I turned it on just in time to see the second tower fall. I honestly fell to the floor crying. My hubby came home from work and we went to the elementary school to get the middle two children. My oldest called from school on her cell phone and said that they were watching the coverage on TV in the classroom. The high school was trying to manage the orderly pick up of children. I don't really remember anything else from the rest of the day, just sitting in front of the tv sobbing.

 

Just recently when we had the flooding in TN my hubby called from work and told me to turn on the TV. I told him no. I was not going to turn on the TV until I knew what it was that I was going to see.

[Karenciavo]

I was at Walt Disney World, we were supposed to fly home that day. Thankfully we had a rental car because by 1 PM when we went to Alamo to extend our rental all their cars and apparently all the cars at Orlando airport were spoken for. People offered us a lot of money for our car, but we needed/wanted to get home.

[RoughCollie]

I had just begun the boys' second grade school year, and DD was in first grade in PS. At 4:30 p.m., my MIL called to tell me what had happened since she knew we didn't watch t.v.

 

I didn't believe her. She was already senile (85 years old). I called DH at work and he said it was impossible, but he got online right away and found out it was true. We were horrified, sad, and angry.

 

DD's school handled it appropriately because DD had no clue that this had happened. I kept her out of school for a couple of days so she wouldn't find out about it from a child in her class.

 

I didn't tell my kids about it for a long time because I didn't want it to destroy the innocence of their childhoods.

[TN Mama]

I had just begun the boys' second grade school year, and DD was in first grade in PS. At 4:30 p.m., my MIL called to tell me what had happened since she knew we didn't watch t.v.

 

I didn't believe her. She was already senile (85 years old). I called DH at work and he said it was impossible, but he got online right away and found out it was true. We were horrified, sad, and angry.

 

DD's school handled it appropriately because DD had no clue that this had happened. I kept her out of school for a couple of days so she wouldn't find out about it from a child in her class.

 

I didn't tell my kids about it for a long time because I didn't want it to destroy the innocence of their childhoods.

 

This is something I'm curious about. How old were your children when you did tell them and what did you tell them? I finally told the girls, maybe last year, but I didn't mention air planes. They know there was an attack in the US and that we've been at war since, but that's the majority of it.

[RoughCollie]

This is something I'm curious about. How old were your children when you did tell them and what did you tell them?

 

I told the boys when they were 8.5 years old, a year later, because they had heard something on the radio about it when they were fooling around changing the station. The radio was in a boom box that I bought so they could listen to music cds. I was appalled that it never dawned on me that they would hear news on the radio.

 

I was succinct and matter of fact about it -- no gory details, no pictures. I told them that Arab terrorists had hijacked several airplanes and flown them into skyscraper office buildings in NYC. I told them that several thousand people had died in the resulting fires and destruction of the buildings. I told them the terrorists were psychopaths, religious extremists who hated the U.S.

 

The boys immediately left the room to have a meeting, which meant they were in problem-solving mode. They were so innocent. They figured out what to do, put on their Power Rangers costumes, and asked me to take them to NYC so they could implement their plan to destroy the Bad Guys. They were serious! I told them that President Bush had already implemented a plan, and that it was his job, not theirs.

 

I told DD about it around the same time, because otherwise the boys would have. It didn't scare her because it was too removed in time and place, and she knew nothing bad would happen to her because the Bad Guys would have to come through me to get to her.

 

My kids did not see any television news until they were around 12 years old. I saw no point in that because the kids couldn't solve the problems. At best they would be horrified and frightened, like I was when I saw the Vietnam War footage on the news every night when I was growing up.

 

I have no problem with kids learning about current events, but I draw the line at graphic verbal or visual depictions of current, frequently local, car accidents, crimes, and war. Now, of course, they have seen the news footage about 9/11 on YouTube.

Edited September 14, 2010 by RoughCollie

[TN Mama]

My kids did not see any television news until they were around 12 years old. I saw no point in that because the kids couldn't solve the problems. At best they would be horrified and frightened, like I was when I saw the Vietnam War footage on the news every night when I was growing up.

 

I have no problem with kids learning about current events, but I draw the line at graphic verbal or visual depictions of current, frequently local, car accidents, crimes, and war.

 

Thank you for that. We don't watch the news (well, the kids don't). We've had serious discussions about current events, war, natural disasters, etc.. I tend to agree we don't need the visuals, not at this stage anyway.

 

I'll never forget when my oldest saw some footage of Katrina. It was maybe the weather channel and the picture was homes surrounded by water - up to the roofs. She was 4 at the time and told me she was mad at God for making that happen. Yeah... that was a fun conversation.

[Hedgehog]

I was in labour with dd9. I remember vaguely thinking, oh, there is something going on in the US.. but I am in labour.. I need to call the midwife..

 

It was only after I had had her (at 5am the next day) that I remembered about the disaster and found out what had happened. My MIL, who was due to fly over from North America, was terribly upset and of course, had her flight cancelled and her visit delayed for 2 weeks.

[eternalknot]

I'm a flight attendant, and was working my first trip back after a yearlong maternity leave. My husband was on an overseas hardship tour, and called me on my layover. I remember being so upset that he had woken me up -- my first night of "real" sleep since the baby he wasn't around to help with had been born -- and hanging up on him, still mostly asleep. I work for one of the airlines that lost planes that day.

 

I don't remember much about that day other than a sick feeling in my stomach that on a day like that our little family (husband, child, and I) were scattered across the globe rather than being together. I stopped flying for the next four years; my husband was a frontline soldier and spent those same four years rotating between field exercises and deployments. Now the sick feeling in my stomach is that our child never will never get to know the pre-9/11 version of his dad I fell in love with -- carefree, young, idealistic. He's now jaded, disabled and losing a years-long battle against PTSD. It's the only "him" our child has ever known, and it has always affected their relationship.

[hsmom3tn]

I was in the kitchen, either making breakfast or cleaning up after. My son and two little girls that I was babysitting kept coming to me and complaining that something was wrong with the TV because their show wasn't on. I finally went to see what they were talking about, just moments before the second plane hit.

 

I just remember being in shock or something, unable to breathe - until the phone rang. It was my mother, freaking out because she thought the world was ending. My son was about to turn 4 and had a birthday party scheduled for a few days later, and she was worried that he wouldn't get to have his party. She was very sick, and maybe she knew she wouldn't be around much longer, so she really wanted to see him have one more birthday... she passed away a few weeks later.

 

The kids were too young to understand what was happening on that day. I'm trying to remember how old they were when we did talk about it, but I can't remember.