9 Years Ago

I can't believe it's already been 9 years but at the same time it seems like it was all so long ago. I know I'll never forget that day and the emotions but with time some of the initial details are becoming fuzzy for me. I think everyone remembers what they were doing when they heard the news. We were in Disneyland. Happiest place on earth. Sleeping in the Disneyland Hotel and excited for our last day of vacation before flying home that evening. We planned on spending our last day at Disneyland's new addition--California Adventure. We woke up around 6 am when our friends, who we were traveling with, called us and asked us if we were watching the news. We quickly turned on the TV just before the second tower was hit. I remember being confused, not sure how two airplanes could have gone so off course to run into both of the towers. I can't remember how long it took us to realize it had been a terrorist attack on our soil. Probably not very long. It was the first time I can remember ever feeling afraid and unsafe in my own country. These things happened in other countries but not in America. We didn't think about changing any of our plans and got ready for the day only to be shocked to find Disneyland closed. Disneyland never closes. We couldn't figure out why Disneyland would need to close down when this happened in NYC. Still not understanding the gravity of the event. All of the airports across the country shut down. We tried to get a rental car to drive home but nothing was available in LA. We found one a few hours north of LA and drove home that night. I spent the next few weeks unable to turn off the TV. I watched the news nonstop and wanted to learn as much as I could about each innocent individual who lost their life that day. Crying and mourning with everyone in this country. It changed people. There really was a noticeable change. People were kinder to each other, more patient with each other. Our country came together and became stronger. I think that change is gone now. 9 years later. It seems that unfortunately the majority of us have gone back to the hurried, shuffle of life. We were a better, more loving nation after 9/11 and hopefully as we reflect on this day we can bring back that love and hope and togetherness we all felt.

This is what we were doing 9 years ago . . .