Do you remember where you were & what you were doing on 9-11-01?

[BatmansWife]

How could you forget, right? I usually can't remember a specific day a week ago.....but, I'll never forget that day 10 years ago.

I was doing some schoolwork with the kids and decided to check in at the homeschool forum I frequented (at the time it was VegSource....now it's here :001_smile: ). Someone posted, "The Twin Towers just fell!" I was thinking...."what???" :confused: I couldn't believe that such a thing could be true or why. So, I ran to the living room to turn on the tv.....still thinking, "no way!". It was on every channel and it played over and over and over and over. I really couldn't do much of anything the rest of the day. Just had that tv on and had such a heartsick feeling inside. It really was awful. And, thankfully, I didn't even personally know anyone who was affected.

What about you? Where were you and what were you doing when you first heard the terrible news?

[melissel]

Every minute of it :( I was in New York City, at work on Astor Place, on the roof of our building, watching everything happen.

 

I was actually feeling sorry for myself this morning and had typed out a whole long post. Then I started thinking about where I was 10 years ago and deleted the whole thing. It was too much of a self-pity party on this tragic anniversary :glare:

 

ETA: When I first heard the news, I was on my way out of the building and heard two people in the elevator saying that someone accidentally flew a plane into the first tower. I rolled my eyes and wondered how such a stupid mistake could have been made. By the time I got to the Starbucks on the corner, I heard someone else saying it was two planes. I actually laughed and thought about how it was like the telephone game, with rumors starting to fly. I got back to the building and tried to load up CNN to see what was happening. When I couldn't get onto any news sites, I started to get scared. A minute later my phone rang, and my mom was on it, practically in tears, because I would often take the PATH train in from Jersey City through the WTC station, and she was terrified when she couldn't get through to my phone at first (she has no concept of where things are in NYC). Actually, DH and I were driving through the Holland Tunnel just a mile from the scene, and I remember thinking how surreal it was that I was putting on eyeliner and singing in the car as horror was unfolding within walking distance :(

 

See? Every minute :tongue_smilie: (but really, :crying:).

Edited September 11, 2011 by melissel

[Tap]

Ds16 was on his way to public school, 1st week of 2nd grade. DD12 was a toddler. I sat glued to the TV.

[momofkhm]

I had dropped one kid off at school, one kid at preschool and the other must have been down for nap. I was perusing the boards and someone posted something about 'what is happening in NYC?' I had just turned off the morning shows so I was thinking "nothing". Then someone else posted the same thing. I decided something was up and turned on the tv. The first tower was on fire, pouring smoke out. I saw the plane hit the second tower. I saw both towers fall.

 

I watched so much tv coverage that day. My then preschooler was glued to the tv with me. The thing about watching all that coverage got me like a week, maybe a month later when she and I were driving somewhere and we saw a car on fire - pouring smoke of course. She said to me from the back seat "mommy, does htis mean lots and lots of people are going to die?" Broke my heart!

[amo_mea_filiis.]

I was driving back from kmart with dd and heard it on the radio. As soon as I got home, I ran upstairs to hear my (step) grandfather yelling "Gd dm terrorists!"

[Hunter's Moon]

I was just about to turn 8 in a month, so I didn't really understand the significance. I understood people had died because of a bad group of people. I didn't understand that people had lost their parents, siblings, friends, co-workers, etc. It just didn't connect for me.

 

I was in 2nd grade, and my mother came to pick up my sister (4th grader) & I from school at about 10 or so. She was scared to death & my father being a conspiracy theorist didn't help much.

 

We lived in Massachusetts, so we weren't directly involved, but we did have three men in our city who were part of the plot and were found and arrested that day.

[chepyl]

I was getting ready for work. We had GMA on, they cut to video of the first tower and were talking about how it must have been a pilot error and how It had happened before....then the second plane hit. I sat on the bed and watched until I had to leave for work. We listened to the radio all day. DH came to get my car and fill the tank because people started talking about price gouging at gas stations. I taught dance in the evenings, we cancelled classes for several days, we were a few miles from an AFB and many students came from their, they were all saying goodbye to parents who left within a day or two.

[JudoMom]

I had my 25 month old son on one knee, and my 364 day old son on the other. They had both woken up early, and I had turned the morning news on. The first plane had hit; the second hadn't hit yet. As the commentators were trying to figure out what had happened, the second plane hit. I watched dumbfounded, trying to figure out what in the world was going on.

 

My dh was working nights at the time, so he was asleep. When the Pentagon was hit I woke him up.

 

I spent the rest of the day watching the news with my dh and decorating my son's 1st birthday cake.

 

The two memories that are strongest for me, though, was watching the 2nd plane hit live and decorating my son's cake. I was horrified at the thought of the world he and my oldest would grow up in. I was grateful they were too young to understand and ask questions.

[Jennifer in MI]

I was reading to the 3 boys (then - 5, 3, and 1). Dh came in and turned on the tv to CNN and we watched as they thought it was just a small craft. Then the second one hit. My Dh went nuts!!!! He kept saying, "We're under attack!!! We're going to go to war!!!"

 

I took the kids and went to the park and dh went to work. I needed to forget about it. Dh kept calling with updates. I went to the grocery store and stocked up a bit. Now, I feel silly about that.

[Heather in Neverland]

I was standing in a classroom full of teenagers. We were all staring at the television and everyone was crying.

[Liza Lee]

I was at home with my 5 kids getting ready to go to the weekly Bible study. We had arranged an art class for the homeschooled students at the same time so the moms could do the Bible study, too. My husband called and told me to turn on the TV (because he knew I didn't watch TV in the mornings). I asked what channel and he said any channel. I turned it on and was shocked. I had an online friend whose husband was working at the Pentagon and I stayed home until I heard from her that her DH was okay. Then we went to church. Instead of doing the regular lesson, the church had set up a television and we watched some and prayed some.

[KristinaBreece]

High school. I walked into my 11th grade English class & a guy ran in the door behind me, hysterical, and turned on the television. We saw the building burning, the first plane had hit. Then my English teacher turned it off. I learned in my next class that we missed seeing the second collision by moments. I don't have a clue what she taught over the next hour, but I remember being afraid and not knowing what was going on, because she wouldn't let us watch to find out. When I went to my next class (Chemistry), he had the television on and we watched CNN in every class for the rest of the day.

[Ria]

Back then I was teaching for the school my kids attended - it was a once-a week school for homeschoolers. My older kids had been picked up by my carpooler. I was not scheduled to teach until 10:00, so I was still home with the littles getting ready for the day.

 

A friend called and said turn on the tv, then she hung up. Confused, I turned on the tv and saw the 1st tower in flames. I was in tears...called my dad (retired admiral) who was with his best friend (retired USN pilot)...they both said this was not an accident.The next plane hit the 2nd tower minutes later. On my way to school I heard that the Pentagon had been hit.

 

I went to school, taught my class, and informed the headmaster that I was taking my kids and going home. He argued with me...he had not seen/heard any reports, no excuse imo considering the reports coming in from other moms...I told him our country had been attacked and I was leaving.

 

My best friend was at the Capitol that day, touring. The Pentagon was hit, they heard it, and suddenly their kids were being overrun with people trying to get out of the Capitol. Thank God they got our without their kids being hurt. They were able to come here (PA). We sat and cried for 2 days...they couldn't get back to MA before that.

[Aubrey]

I had just dropped dh off at work & was taking my 9mo old baby to day care before heading to my Children's Lit class. Someone had said that China had said that if Bush was elected, China would attack.

 

I was listening to live coverage on the radio, & the news caster was speculating that the first plane was an accident when the 2nd one hit. I was wrong about China, but I knew it wasn't an accident.

 

Dh worked w/ a lady whose dd was in the air force, so we heard a lot about the PA plane that day, too, as it was happening.

 

I remember wondering if ds would be safer at daycare or at home, if I should turn around & get dh, what to do. Ultimately, I decided that the safest thing would be routine, & I went to school to listen to a prof talk about how we needed to ignore the whole mess. :glare: She was a great prof when it came to her subj matter, but personally? Sheash.

[bairnmama]

I was in the car on my way to the airport with a 1-way ticket for a friend's wedding. Xdh and I stopped for gas and someone told us to turn on the radio because the pentagon had just been attacked. We heard about the 1st plane that had gone into the tower and decided to go to his grandfather's house to watch the news. We stayed there the rest of the day just watching the TV and I never got to the wedding. My dd was just 3 months old at the time and I was grateful the images on the TV didn't have any affect on her at all.

 

Within 6 weeks, xdh was on his way to boot camp and dd and I were bouncing between family members waiting for him to finish. He ended up going overseas to combat zones 5 different times and is still there now.

[DawnM]

It was only a bit after 6am in California. I was getting ready for work.

 

Dawn

[pfamilygal]

I was working night shift and was sleeping during the day. My dad called and told me to turn on the TV. I asked what channel and he said, "Any channel." I turned on the TV to see Little House on the Prairie. I said, "Oh my goodness! Did Michael Landon die?" He told me to change the channel. :)

 

Spent the rest of the day glued to the TV and went to a special prayer service that night.

[AngelaNYC]

I remember. Ds was 6 months old and I was holding him in the living room when dh called and said to turn on the tv. I freaked out because dh had just started a new job the day before right down the block from the UN. He left shortly after the call and walked home over the 59th Street Bridge. There were no trains running. And all cell phone service was jammed up. I panicked every second it took for him to get home.

 

I also hadn't heard from my mom, who worked near Central Park. She also walked over the bridge and then got a ride out to Long Island. My sister catered a breakfast in the World Trade Center that morning, but was out of there before 8am.

 

My girls were in school (3rd grade & Kindergarten) and the school called for me to pick them up. Military fighter planes were flying around everywhere.

 

At the end of the day all of us were safe. I didn't lose any real close friends in the attack. One woman who died was at a candle party with me the week before and dh was good friends with the brother of another victim. I worked in the Trade Center in the early 90s. It's all so surreal.

[creativish]

I was in college between classes when I heard some professors talking under their breath about an airplane crashing. My next class started and it was like my prof could care less.:glare: She was like yeah it happened but we still have class. Blah!! I only heard bits and pieces here and there (darned no smartphones back then!!). My other profs that day took it much more seriously and we got to watch the news on tv for most of the time. After classes were over that night, I was glued to the tube trying to figure out what was going on.

I got pregnant with my 1st that next month and 9 months later the hospital was going through a baby boom that they thought was spurred by 9/11.:D

[Xuzi]

I was a sophomore in college, living in my sister's basement, and I always turned on the news when I got up in the morning. I remember seeing the first tower on fire, and listening to the commentators talking about how such an accident could have happened. I was doing my hair (I could see the tv from the bathroom), and I was placing a hot roller in my hair when the second plane hit. My stomach dropped and I *knew* this was no accident.

 

I still went to school, and the TV's the college had mounted in the hallways every few yards that usually carried school announcements (like upcoming sports events, or dances), were all turned to CNN, and there were small crowds gathered around all of them. I was in an architectural drafting program, and in the common area of our corner of the college everyone was talking about the logistics of repairing that kind of damage at that great a height. That was all we talked about in my class as well. When we walked back into the common area after class was over we saw the footage of the towers collapsing.

 

The rest of the day is kind of a blur. I remember finally crying in my Religion class, and going home to find my sister glued to the TV. In fact, I don't think we watched anything *but* news coverage of the attacks for the rest of that week. It was just surreal.

Edited September 11, 2011 by Xuzi

[ChrisB]

I was working in Pittsburgh, PA and right near their airport. A co-worker called me into his office. He was listening to Howard Stern that morning. He was trying to get live feed over the internet. We watched the footage of the planes hitting the towers and we actually saw the live feed of the towers falling. We were sent home an hour or so after because there was still chaos regarding the planes that were still unaccounted for.

Edited September 11, 2011 by ChrisB

[Donna]

I was home with my boys. They were playing quietly before we started our day and I had clicked on the news on the TV for a few minutes. I don't even remember why I turned on the news because I didn't normally have TV on in the mornings. I started watching just after the first plane hit, saw the second plane hit the tower, and watched the towers fall. I live in NJ and my bil, who had just moved to CA a few months prior, would have been under the towers in the subway when the first plane hit if still working in NY.

 

I'll never forget the sadness and feelings of horror. Ugh! I was crying the whole morning and hugging my boys tight. It felt like the end of the world.

[Twolittleboys]

I remember. I was living in LA at the time and had just returned from a trip to Europe a day before. Because of the jet lag I was up earlier than usual and the radio was on. I was coming out of the shower when I heard them talking about the plane hitting the tower. At first I thought it was some sort of show but then it seemed real so I turned on the TV. By that time the second plane hit and I watched for a while. Eventually, I decided to go to work as I couldn't quite figure out whether our building was open or not. Of course it had been closed (it was a highrise in downtown and there was concern it might be a target as well) and there was security there, sending everyone home. They kept the office closed for the next day or two and people were supposed to work from home if possible. Once we returned, there was increased security (checking of car trunks etc.).

 

I remember driving down the 405 near LAX and there wasn't a single plane in the air. Even though I didn't know any of the victims personally, I do remember the fear, the despair, the disbelief, and the pure shock.

[Mommyof4ks]

My mom had come over to watch dd while I went to swim class (I was still in college). When class ended I got back in my car only to hear that they were talking about a plane flying into the WTC, and at that time it was still thought to be an accident. At first I thought they were joking, because it sounded to strange to be true, and that is when one of the djs hollered that another plane hit the second tower. All I could do was drive at that point to get home to my dd. My thought was that if someone was attacking major things in our country, then the nearby army base might be on the list (it is huge).

 

There were NO cars on the road on my drive home which was very unusual. Later I found out that the nearby army base was on alert, so few people were moving around.

[reign]

I was in a college class in Detroit. I forget what class, maybe psychology. Boyfriend (who became husband) was listening to the radio in car before his class started. He heard what happened and came to get me. People kept leaving the class and eventually the prof found out and dismissed everyone. Leaving Detroit was bad. Cars everywhere. We then went to my parents house to watch the news. (i was 21)

[newlifemom]

Long Island. I had turned on the TV bc dd and liked to watched the back of dh's head. He was a traffic producer for Shadow Traffic in NY at the time. [they were based out of Rutherford.] When the Today Show would cut to local traffic we could see him and dd [3 at the time] thought that was the neatest thing.

 

Watched things unfold. Called dh. Called friend whose dh was also [now] stuck on the other side of the Hudson River. We packed a few things and drove to her house. While I was driving on the LIE no less, the first tower fell. I can't remember crying that hard before then.

 

While I did not lose anyone I knew personally, so many of my friends did. I know people with PSTD b/c of the falling bodies, people who walked from Manhattan to Brooklyn b/c there was no other way to get home. People who lost their livelihood as the economy tanked in the wake of the bombings.

 

This year has brought more of these memories to the forefront. While it is important to never forget, I do think it is also important to move forward and take of the present. [Whatever that may be for any one person.]

 

:grouphug: to you who were so impacted.

[CourtneyMI]

I was a junior in high school and knew nothing of the first plane until I walked into my second block class as the second plane hit the tower. I remember thinking, before the second plane hit, that it was really odd for my teacher to have the tv on. Then I saw the flames and the second plane hit the tower and I knew something was wrong. My class was current events. Snce the attacks fit the bill for the class, we watched the entire class period.

 

The next few days were so surreal. Everything was cancelled. Swim practice, swim meets, band practice and the friday night football game. It gave you the sense that everything in the world had just changed.

 

In another sad irony, my dad remarked that night "it's sad that a national tragedy has to happen so that we can have dinner together as a family on a Tuesday night."

[littlebug42]

I was 8 months pregnant with my oldest daughter. I had been taken off work for some pregnancy complications so I was setting myself up on the couch to watch Regis and Kelly and I watched live as the second plane flew into the South Tower. I watched the footage all day and kept dh up to date as he was at work. I was on the phone with my sister when the first tower fell.

 

That evening, our church which is truly the center of our neighborhood, had a prayer service that we went to. I will never forget all of our neighbors coming out of their homes and walking up the street to church together. We had only lived here about a year but it remains one of the things that I love the most about our neighborhood.

[seraphina]

We were living in San Francisco and I woke up excited because it was before 6am which meant I could watch the morning national news shows in peace and quiet. I had four dc 5 and under so those moments of quiet were rare. I turned on the television just as they went to live shows of the towers. I remember running in to wake up dh which I would never do. I was so horrified, I just couldn't watch alone. We watched together as the second plane hit, I remember just crying and crying and holding my kids. I was so worried about dh going to work that day because he had to go into the city and I was worried that either the Bay Bridge or Golden Gate bridge would be attacked. And I hated being so far away from my family.

[dirty ethel rackham]

We were homeschooling as usual when I got a phone call from dh to turn on the TV and that the towers had been hit. I had no clue what he was talking about as I have never been to NYC. I alternated between watching in horror and then trying to keep the kids away from the TV. They were 7, 5 and 1 at the time. I didn't want them to see it as a movie and cheapen the experience, nor did I want them to understand that it was real and have them understand that evil. I finally got them involved in an art project and I nursed dd to sleep in front of the TV. Later, I went outside with the kids and noticed the cloudless sky - so blue and no contrails. It was eerily quiet. All our neighbors were outside staring at the sky. I later heard from my mom that my sister was safe. I didn't know that she was flying to Alaska for work, but was downed in Seattle. She had no idea how serious it was, but was pretty irritated at the difficulty of renting a car to drive to her business appointment. Only when she got to Alaska did she realize how serious everything was.

[nono]

I was packing for a flight which would have gone out of Newark airport for work. Suddenly, I was tracking 20 people I had in the Towers. All 20 made it out.

 

I had many, many clients in those two buildings. Many didn't make it out. Since I worked in high tech and the City was my account, I spent months and months helping coordinate the rebuilding of the infrastructures that were lost.

 

Anniversary years 1 & 8 were the worst for me. This year, while I'm glad they were showing the file footage again, I feel ready for the commemorating to be over. That's just me, I don't feel like my timeline has to be anyone else's. I will never forget, as I lost many people who's lives touched mine that day (in excess of 100). I wonder if it is because it's the first anniversary since Osama bin Laden was killed that I feel differently.

[Puma Mom]

Definitely. I had just sent the boys off to do their math seatwork after doing our group reading for school. My brother called and said, "Turn on the news."

"Which channel?"

"Any channel."

I talked to him for a while, then tried unsuccessfully to call dh at work. The lines were busy for a long time, but I finally got through. They could see the smoke from his building in Eatontown, NJ. We knew quite a few people directly affected, and Monmouth County in particular was hit hard.

[Halftime Hope]

nevermind

Edited September 12, 2011 by Valerie(TX)

[Slartibartfast]

Dh and I were on the bed with 7 month old dd playing with her. She was crawling around and giggling. There is that stark contrast between a moment of sheer happiness and perfection which only a moment later was far different

 

Someone called me and we turned on the television before the second plane hit. I turned to dh and said there was going to be a war.

Edited September 12, 2011 by Sis

[Garga]

I was in a business meeting. I was heading the meeting because I was the corporate trainer and was giving updates on new anesthesia policies to a department.

 

When the first plane crashed, a coworker stuck his head in the door and told us about it. We were sort of confused, but the department's manager told us to carry on. Some of the people "in" the meeting were teleconferenced in, and they had tvs and turned them on (but quietly--we didn't know it in the meeting.) When the 2nd plane hit, the teleconferenced people all gasped. The coworker stuck his head back in the door and told us about the 2nd plane.

 

The manager did NOT let us go back to our desks. She told me to carry on telling everyone about the new policies. I did, but I have no clue what I said. I was stuttering and losing my place. No one was paying any attention.

 

Incidentally, I had just been reading a fiction book about a nuclear attack, and all planes were out of the sky (because of electromagnetic radiation or something or other). The characters in the book were commenting on how quiet it was w/o the planes overhead. It was completely eerie to then have that happen in real life. I lived right under BWI's flight path and we used to hear planes Constantly. It was soooo eerie not to hear them, when all the planes were grounded. Except at the very end of the day, we did hear (and run out to see) some planes, and we were pretty creeped out about that, but since we were near BWI and Washington, we hoped it was Air Force One or some military planes. (Oh, and I never did finish the book. It seemed silly compared to the reality of that week.)

 

Also, that morning, I stopped taking my birth control pills, because after 9 years of marriage, we had finally decided to have children. I had planned on calling my mom on 9/11 to tell her that we were hoping to make her a grandmother soon, but I didn't tell her. It seemed like such an inconsequential thing.

 

The next year, we buried my pastor on 9/11/02, and the next day my 1st son was born.

Edited September 12, 2011 by Garga

[Misty]

We are military and were stationed in Rhode Island at the time. I was up with my two girls that morning (ages almost 4 & an infant) and just happened to have the tv on, watching the news (something I didn't normally do). Anyway, I saw the coverage and then I saw the 2nd plane hit live as it was happening. Complete shock and disbelief. Couldn't believe what I was watching.

[ereks mom]

I was at home and it was a regular homeschool day for my and my then-first grader and then-sixth grader. Dh was home as well because our computer technician (also a family friend) was here setting up a network for our desktop computers. The tech's wife called him about 9:00 and told him we should turn on the television. He was here most of the morning, watching the news coverage with us while also working on the computers. I don't think we got many of our school assignments done because I could not tear myself away from the television.

[Mrs Mungo]

We lived in Germany, so it was late afternoon for us. I was working on a phone tree for the families when my downstairs neighbor knocked on my door. I opened it; she walked in and said, "turn on the tv, turn on the tv!" I turned it on, and the second plane hit. Once we realized there had been two planes, we looked at each other and both said, "we're at war."

 

We watched and cried for what seemed like forever. Both of our husbands were gone on a trip, I called my dh and he immediately said, "what is going on? Everyone's phone rang at once." I told him, they stopped, watched long enough to figure out what was going on and headed back.

 

Spouses and parents of soldiers starting calling me, asking if we were going to war. Where would they likely be going? When would they go? How long would they be gone?

 

I didn't have any answers for them. A year later the unit left for Iraq and they were there for 15 months.

 

We had a candlelight vigil that night at the chapel. The next day our local village fire department left a fire helmet and flag in front of our gates. Hundreds of Germans left flowers.

 

We weren't allowed to leave post for a couple of days, everybody was on lockdown. We had armed patrols guarding the post for months.

 

We had been in Germany for 5 years, they rotated us out along with most of the people we knew.

 

Less than a year later my dh was in Afghanistan. He has done multiple tours now. All of our tragedy has been since 9/11. It hasn't ended. I have attended six memorials in the last six months.

Edited September 12, 2011 by Mrs Mungo

[PiCO]

I had just dropped my kids off at school, and I was meeting with my c-brownie leader at a coffee house. She said she had heard that a plane hit one of the towers- I thought that was strange. Dh & I had recently flown around Manhattan in our Cessna- what kind of idiot would go so far off course and hit a tower? She told me she heard it was a commercial flight. I thought- no way!

 

Then the footage started on TV. I was absolutely astounded. I went home and watched TV a bit, in a daze. We did not have the TV on when our kids were home, because they were young and didn't need to see that.

 

I had friends who were in the city visiting- they were able to rent a car with another couple and drive home.

 

Another friend was returning from a trip abroad when all flights were grounded. He ended up staying in Northern Canada until the plane was allowed to take off again.

[lmrich]

I had just dropped my kids off at preschool. We had listened to a kid tape on the way there so I when I got back in the car I learned about both attacks at the same time. I came home and sat in my rocking chair watching in horror as the buildings crashed. I was 8 months pregnant with my third. Later that day I was struck by how quiet it was without any planes overhead (we are close enough to the ATL airport). 3 days later my middle daughter was hospitalized with croup for 4 days. It felt like my entire world changed.

[Marylou]

Moscow, Russia, late afternoon. Watched the BBC the rest of the day. Air France wouldn't honor our return flight tickets for a week after 9/11. Finally had to buy new tickets on a Russian airline. Got back to the US on 9/20.

[mytwomonkeys]

i was 8 months pregnant with my first child and getting ready for work (living in ATL). my husband called and told me to put on the TV. i remember feeling totally confused... i had idea what was happening and it just grew more devastating as the day progressed.

[Michelle O. in MO]

Less than a year later my dh was in Afghanistan. He has done multiple tours now. All of our tragedy has been since 9/11. It hasn't ended. I have attended six memorials in the last six months.

 

:grouphug::grouphug: I'm so sorry. What a nightmare.

[sbgrace]

I was teaching and on my prep. hour--busy and unaware. Toward the end I went toward the office to pick up mail and caught a TV on in a classroom. I remember standing there shocked and a student (his face etched on my mind) told me what had happened and then suddenly there was the image of the tower falling. Shock...and I remember thinking those poor people. The bell rang.

 

I went to my classroom and watched these 9th grade kids file in laughing and talking and I knew many didn't know yet. I was trying to figure out how to word a moment some of them would always remember with composure. I was sad for them, too, that to some degree life had changed from secure to insecure in that moment.

 

I was worried about my husband because he was doing audit work at a naval facility and at that time so much was unknown.

[Starr]

We heard the news on the answering machine. Dd, then 7 ,asked me if her friends in NYC were alive and if there was going to be a world war. Out of the mouths of babes. We had spent a lot of time in the city that year and I was formerly a nurse in the World Trade Center. I know where I would have been had it been a few years earlier.

[jelbe5]

I was making the bed and had the news radio on. They were reporting about what seemed to be an accident. I turned on the TV to watch. My oldest was 6 and walked in to the room just as the second plane hit. She asked "what is happening?" and I told her I did not know and switched the TV off. I listened to the radio a lot that day and tried to sneak in some TV. I was struck by how blue the sky was where we live; and how quiet it was after The FAA grounded all flights . . . it still hurts 10 years later . . .

[swellmomma]

I had just returned to college after leaving my husband. THe kids had started daycare just the week before, the first time I had ever had left them at a daycare without me working there. I had just dropped them off and was driving downtown, late for class, when I heard over the radio that the towers had been hit. As I pulled into the parking lot I heard about the pentagon. I ran into class and couldn't help myself but tell everyone what had just happened even though class had already begun. We spent most of that day watching the footage on the news in the campus bar. I remember watching the towers come down and feeling like I had to get back to my babies asap. Even though where I am is in a different country and otherside of continent I couldn't help but feel like the world was coming to an end. And in a way it was. The world as we knew it had come to an end.

[kalanamak]

Actually no. I rarely listen to radio news, and have no TV. I thought the weather might be going bad, because there were no jets overhead. I thought they had radically changed the flight path. I don't think I knew for a couple days. We were chopping blackberries off acreage at the time.

[fourcatmom]

I was in California with my 9 mo old daughter at my Mom's house. I was 4 months pregnant with dd#2. My Aunt called from Washington and woke us up and we watched it on TV. I drove home (about 2 hours south) later that day on a very empty highway.

 

I had 5 nephews that were between the ages of 9 and 13 when 9/11 happened. Three of them are now EMT's / First Responders and one is in the Fire Academy now. The other nephew joined the Military and served twice in Iraq at the age of 19. I know that the Hero's that stepped forward that day and selflessly gave of their lives have influenced so many young people about the kind of people they want to become. I am honored to have not only 4 Eagle Scouts in my family but 3 EMT's, as well. and they are all under the age of 23.

 

It is nice to see that through their (Police Officers, Firefighters, Military, EMT/First Responders) sacrifice, they have borne a new generation of men and women who want to serve and protect our country and our communities.

Edited September 12, 2011 by fourcatmom

[Annie Laurie]

I was sleeping and someone kept hanging up and calling back over and over. My oldest was 7 and in public school and my other son was 10 months and would sleep in until 10 every morning. I was irritated that someone kept calling and woke me up and answered the phone all crabby and it was dh telling me a plane had hit one of the WTC towers. He worked at American Airlines corporate headquarters at the time and I really wanted him home but he couldn't come home. They had a lot to deal with at headquarters and needed everyone there. I went and got my 7 yr old from school, the school was advising parents against that, but I just wanted to hold my babies.