It’s September 11. Do You Remember What You Were Doing?

Wow...thanks so much for sharing! There was hope amidst uncertainty that your man would be with you no matter what. Very bittersweet. *hugs*

That was a beautiful story, Chris. And congratulations on making something positive out of a day that was so horrible. :)

I was nine on 9/11. I was in 4th grade. I remember coming back to class after PE, and there was a weird mood in the room. My teacher opted not to say anything not to turn on the TV, nothing. All the other teachers broke the news to their classes, but she went on as if the day was normal, even though we sensed something was off. Lunchtime even had a weird air to it.

I remember climbing into my dad's passenger seat when he pulled up to pick me up, I still remember the sweet smell of antifreeze from his old, decrepit Nissan pickup. Rust and dry grass.

He was quiet while I yammered on about my day, and then he told me "two terrorists hijacked a plane and flew it into some big office buildings in New York". I blinked at him, I couldn't figure out why he was pausing like it was really important. I'd heard tons of violent police stories from him; it was our fun way of winding down when he came home from work, while peeling off layers of sweaty kevlar.

I didn't know how major it was until we came home and he'd left the TV on CNN. Even then, I didn't cry, I just...absorbed everything. Watched. That night, my church decided to still have our weekly Tuesday night prayer, and it was filled up to the rafters with complete strangers, huddled together.

They had my dad's division grab their riot gear and some bedding and sleep overnight at the station in case Dallas got attacked. I read the flyer, it seemed like something out of a movie or something from Nazi Germany. That was when things really sunk in for me. It was a nauseous sort of fear. I still get it when I think back to that day.

It still bothers me that my friends and I were children when it happened, and when the war started and we're now old enough to fight in it...and die in it...I've got a good number of friends who enlisted this year.

What a nice story. Something good happened amidst something tragic.

A sad, bewildering day for me but its a day of hope and promise for you. Thanks for sharing.

Thank you for opening up and sharing with us this remarkable story. It's in times of danger when people realize what matters to them the most and for Michael it was you and Max.

I was a sophmore in high school. and it was a typical morning. I went to my history class and I noticed my teacher and another teacher were talking and walking in and out of the class. I didn't think of it as anything. I then went to my english class and my teacher told us that there was an attack in NY. I didn't know the gravity of the attack until i went to my biology class. Our school was on military base,so every few moments announcements were made for students to go home since their parents came to pick them up.

Soon enough the whole school was dimissed. When our bus left the school grounds we were stuck in traffic. That's when i realized something is really off. When I got home, my brother and I turned on the TV and saw what was happening. I couldn't believe it. I remember trying to get in contact w/ my dad on his cell, but couldn't get through, cuz the lines were busy.

That day was horrific. I kept thinking how could this happen in America? didn't we learn from Pearl Harbor. I remember being upset, fearful, & helpless. The scenes of people jumping out of the building, the smoke that chased after people, the injured being helped by anyone who was around. it was pure craziness.

Beautifully written and wonderful story! Wow, this day must mean all that much more to you.

I was at home with my mom when I heard the terrible news. I was more disturbed by how much my mom freaked out and called all of our relatives in New York than by the images on the news. I didn't understand the magnitude of the attack back then.

I was in the third grade..There was an announcement made on the loud-speaker of an early dismissal. My teacher turned on the radio as we heard the tragic news. As all the students looked out the window we could see the smoke from all the way from Queens ( Nyc borough).My mom picked me up and I spent the rest of the day watching the tragic news.

It was just another Tuesday of me complaining about going to work and getting dressed watching some garbage tv. I channel surfed to ABC where I promptly saw the second plane hit. WTF! I had no idea what I was seeing. Went to work and was sent home almost immediately to watch the hell unfold. Unreal that it's been ten years. Back then, no Facebook, Twitter, Skype, nothing. Feels like yesterday but then feels so long ago. Yet, when September closes in, the grief flares up and I am reminded how any one of us could've been sitting at our desk at work or taking a business trip that morning. Still makes me cry but inspires a level of DO IT TODAY urgency because, to say the least, this world is unpredictable.
I also look at firefighters with a genuine sense of awe.

Nice story -- very sad day, but for you at least it holds some bittersweet memories.

I was working at a federal agency in D.C., and when one of our co-workers said that a plane had hit one of the Twin Towers, we all thought he was joking around. We were stuck in DC for hours once it became clear what had happened.

10 years later and it's still hard to believe that so many people died for nothing.

I was a young(er) doctoral candidate with a teaching fellowship, my first teaching gig outside of my school. I had just driven the 45 minutes to the school, parked and then entered the library to start the day--it is where my office was. In the library sitting area, the televisions were on and we heard of what happened. My students were hardly there; they were in class, but just not there. Numbers of them were from New England or New York, who had relatives who lived and worked in the Wall Street area. I taught the class and then stayed in the library pretty much the full day, watching the news reports. I think I was on autopilot, it really didn't hit me until I got home that I might have had friends or acquaintances affected by it...I was raised in NYC and went to school there, so I was not surprised to read about alumns who died that day--some of whom I could recall. Luckily the people I knew were okay--they lived far enough away from the area (and thus were not as badly affected) or worked nearby the WTC but got out time. But I too was filled with sadness. I was always in and out of that area when I used to live and work in NYC or when I would go back to visit. I can still see some of the landmarks in my mind. Every 9/11 has me teary...as I read about the stories or talk to other people about it. Up here in New England, it is very big, not just because of the WTC and the Boston-NYC connection many New Englanders and New Yorkers have, but two of the flights left out of Logan in Boston.

What powerful story of how love bringing people together in a time of devastation. I was in my senior english class when it happened and remember our principal asking us to pause to pray (Catholic school girl) and having my english teacher burst into tears--they'd been watching the whole thing play out in the teacher's lounge--and turned on the TV. She was the only teacher who turned the news on in her class. She felt that ast 17 we were grown up enough t know what was going on without having someone else teel us what they thought we could handle in the situation. It's insane to think that on this day ten years ago I'd started the day worrying about my hair and cheerleader practice and how awesome senior year would be and ended it counting my blessings. Which is why we should count our blessings everyday.

Thank you for sharing your experience with something positive that came from that day. I was 11, so I was in middle school in the middle of my Language Arts class. I remember a teacher come running into the room to talk to our teacher and noticing how upset she looked. We turned the TV on and watched the news cover everything that was happening. I don't think what happened really hit me until much later and even now, I can't believe that it's been 10 whole years. My thoughts and prayers are still with everyone who was affected by this.

Beautiful story and that is what a man does. Prove his love with a marriage.

(Folks shacking up I mean no offense to you, so leave me alone)

This is a perfect illustration of what counts most in the world - our connection to others ...

Thanks for sharing this touching story with us.

I was working at the Navy Yard in Washington, DC, downriver from the Pentagon. The day was one of those stunning DC days, with a deep-blue, cloudless sky and temperate weather after a hot summer. I had just mailed a package at the post office and was walking back to work when I saw groups of people running towards the Anacostia River. I vaguely wondered why but had a lot of work to do so went back to my office. No one was there; it was like a ghost town. I walked around until I found everyone crammed into the conference room watching the big-screen television. To see it without knowing what happened was sensory overload. Just as I was grasping what was happening in New York, they announced the Pentagon disaster. I closed my eyes and whispered, "Oh, my God!" Everyone had been running to the river because the Pentagon was quite visible from there. I felt intense pain from the tension because I knew people who worked at the Pentagon and, although I was an active duty Naval officer and a trained warfighter, I just couldn't grasp that death was on my doorstep.

Christelyn, I'm glad to hear your engagement happened on that day. While concentrating on what I was going to do next, I totally missed my BFF giving birth to her son; they had shut down all landlines and cell towers so we had no way of communicating. Today is his tenth birthday (Happy Birthday, Trey!). Despite the horror, there were good things that happened ten years ago and I cherish them all the more. Thanks for sharing your happy moment!

Thank you for sharing this beautiful story.
My thoughts are with all of you in America and it had a strong impact on us over on this side too and all over the world.
I came back home from being outside playing with my friends when my mom told me about what had just happened in America and the footage was terrifying, me and mom were just quiet as we watched the news.
God bless all of you

I'm glad you posted this. I've been talking with friends and others about 9/11 and recalling where I was (I was a senior in high school, and we were sent home. I didn't know exactly what happened until I got home and my mom told me).

It's nice to hear something good that happened during that time period. I've been hearing and reading and watching a lot of sad things, but it's important to remember and show respect to those who lost their lives on that day.

What a terrific story, Chris! I love that something so good came from that day. For me, I worked in mktg at United and after getting laid off I got to spend 8 months with my first child when I would have only had 6 weeks. Still thankful.

Thank you for sharing. It was meant to be.

This is a lovely story. 911 put the most important things in life in perspective for everyone, and at the top of the list was our loved ones! Happy 10 year anniversary of the day you got engaged. :)

Wow! What a powerful story. Glad to hear it had a happy ending :)