Look up.
A deep, rich blue sky. The crisp morning air, filled with dew drops.
The first crunch of leaves under foot. Sun glinting through the trees, beginning to lose their lush green color now.
A day that felt bittersweet. That it was reminding us something was fleeting. Summer, we thought.
Looking back now, 16 years later, that is what I remember the most vividly about September 11, 2001. The brilliant blue sky. The backdrop to the gray smoldering ashes of New York. The Pentagon. Shanksville.
That something so horrible could pierce that seemingly perfect early September day is difficult to grasp.
Look up.
Airliners were turned into weapons, taking thousands of people from this country; from their families.
Thinking about it now, over a decade and a half later, I still have a hard time wrapping my head around the events of 9/11. Sixteen years ago I was only a child, 12 years old, unaware that such hatred and violence could exist in the world.
Now, I think about my future children. How will I explain September 11 to them? How do you explain something to a child you didn't fully grasp when you were that age?
I learn something new about September 11 each year and am seemingly more contemplative. Several years ago it was music written in memoriam. In 2014 it was the 9/11 exhibit at the Newseum. This year it was the story of the haunting "The Falling Man" picture.
It is in these types of mediums that the horror of that day is on clear display. But yet, the story of 9/11 is so much more than that.
It is the people like you and me who became heroes, helping strangers to safety down the smoke-filled stairs of the World Trade Center. It is the firefighters, police officers, journalists, and many more who were there to save others and comfort the victims.
It was Brian Sweeney onboard United 175 leaving a message for his wife.
It is in these raw, vivid, and emotional pieces that we understand 9/11 in its entirety. Thousands of miles away from NY, PA, and DC, communities have memorialized this day and remember what we lost.
It is in this way that I hope to help my children understand September 11, 2001. When they are at an age to be able to learn about 9/11 we will be at least 30 years removed - double where we are today.
This continued pull of time asks us how we will remember the attacks not just today but in 15 more years. While I'm not sure I have a good answer to that, I think sitting quietly to reflect connects us with the past. What is the first thing that comes to your mind?
Mine is that blue sky. The first smells of autumn. The beautiful morning that turned so terribly tragic.
I looked up to the sky today. A gorgeous, shimmering blue on an early fall day - so eerily similar to 16 years ago.
#NeverForget
