Never Thought of Today as "Patriot's Day"

It's strange to think that kids born in 2001 are fourteen now. They're in high school. That blows my mind just a bit. But on a day like today, it's a bit sobering. I think of all the other National holidays I don't have first hand experience understanding, and I suppose that so called "Patriot's Day," will be similar. To be honest, I've never even thought of today by that name. It lives in my mind simply by the date, "September Eleventh."

I remember.

Maybe you don't, maybe you do. For goodness sake, I was a little second grader when it happened, but I remember. You don't forget something with the words, "terrorist attack" in it very quickly. I'm sure anyone born in the 1930's feels the same way about Pearl Harbor.

I was born in 1994, so on September 11, 2001, I was just past my seventh birthday and about a month or so into second grade. I had Mrs. Boicourt that year. Winifred Pifer Elementary. What you have to realize about this, however, is that New York is three hours ahead of California. So at 8:45 AM, it was only 5:45 AM here. But I'm pretty sure everyone knew what was on the news.

The towers were leveled at 10:30 AM... that was only 7:30 here. But it was a Tuesday and most families are up and getting ready for school by that time.

When terrorists attack, everything plays on repeat for hours. The news played that clip of the towers falling over and over again, all day.

If I remember correctly... we even watched it in my class.

As a seven year old, I just remember a sinking feeling in my chest. You don't really see something like that coming. And the mere idea of people dying like that is a bit hard to fathom.

There's this surrealism that surrounds the day, if you remember it.

You know, they say that when Pearl Harbor was bombed, everyone in California was convinced we were next. Later on, it was discovered that there was a California-bound plane hijacked on September 11, 2001. We can thank God it never made it.

But you know, it's not just "Patriot's Day." It was a pretty scary day, to tell the truth. And for my family, it's a little strange. You see... it was my grandparents' wedding anniversary, long before it became "September Eleventh." Strange how something so sentimental can take on a whole new context. "The terrorits stole my grandparents anniversary," isn't always a very funny joke.

But I guess its never been "Patriot's Day" to me... and to be honest, this is the first year I realized they actually named it.

So to conclude... God be with everyone who lost a family member that day... comfort them. And bless each man and woman that ran into danger, rather than away from it.

Amen... again and again.