11/09/2024
It’s hard to believe it’s been 23 years. And while this date still creates a feeling of sadness for me every time it rolls around, time has most certainly dulled the memories of what it actually looked like and felt like on that day. Having been in high school when the attack on our country occurred, I don’t think I could fully understand the implications of the devastation. But now, being married to a firefighter who intentionally turns towards danger in order to help and protect others and a veteran who was deployed in the aftermath, I have a much greater understanding of the magnitude of those events 23 years ago.
Another first responder wife, , worded it perfectly, so I wanted to share her challenge today…
“Instead of just saying you will “never forget”, posting a photo of the Twin Towers, and moving on with your day, I challenge you to pause. To slow down. To really remember-or if you weren’t alive yet-to learn about:
- The thousands of lives taken suddenly and violently.
- The heroes who ran towards danger in order to help however they could, and the ones who laid down their lives so that others could live.
- The country that America was, united, in the hours and days and weeks that followed.
- The loved ones who will forever have a gaping hole where their husband/sister/child/friend/coworker/hero once was.
- And the thousands more who signed their life away to this country because they believed in her, and justice, and safety, and service.
To really “never forget” we must continue to share the stories of our lost heroes. We must sit together in the silence and discomfort and grief. We must not erase history, no matter how painful or uncomfortable it may be.
In order to “never forget”, we must relive this horrible day, every single year, together. We must have the hard conversations, look at the photographs, listen to the calls, hear the stories, and watch the footage.
We must, truly, never forget”
