September 11, 2001

Where were you?

I was getting ready to pinch hit for my friend who was running the Day Care Center at our church. Someone had to be out and she needed me to take care of the 2- and 3-yo room Tuesday and Thursday. So I was getting ready to leave; Mike was 12 and getting ready as he would be bringing his schoolwork with him... I was checking email, and on one of my email groups a dear friend living in New Jersey (within view of NYC) had written in about the first attack. I immediately put the TV on... and mesmerized by the images... the surreal feel to it all... I left the TV on and went to the bathroom to finish getting ready... had to pull both Mike & I away from the TV and had the radio on as we drove. I kept thinking what a horrible accident... then I heard that the second airplane hit and knew it couldn't have been an accident... got to church, touched base with the office staff to make sure they knew what was going on... and headed down the hallway to my assignment...

It was such a surreal day... Having the images and the thoughts constantly in my thoughts and yet, having to put a happy face on for the 5 or 6 children totally innocent and unaware of world events taking place... the fear and the uncertainty that I had, had to be tightly held within... I fed them lunch... we played and colored... and yet miles & miles away... what was happening... what might happen?

That afternoon/night... calls to loved ones... the TV stayed on to the wee hours... Wed. the TV was on more than not... Thursday was a repeat of Tuesday... the weirdest part was to look into the sky and to never see a plane... except for a very "far & few in between" event of a fighter jet going across the sky... walking downtown Dallas a month later and looking up at the extremely tall buildings (but of course nothing like NYC) and almost feeling a bit like Chicken Little, wondering how people felt and reacted seeing a plane heading & then hitting the building they stood below, or down the street from... Surreal....