September 11th used to be just another day. Then, it became my son’s brother’s birthday. Nine years later…September 11th became something else. September 11th, 2001 became the day of the destruction of American innocence. It became a day controlled by terrorists and their plot of destruction. It became a day of horror and fear. It became a day of mourning. Then, it became a day of rememberance.
Each year the day brings anxiety, fear, sadness and depression…but it also, becomes a measure of time. It becomes, almost a before and after measure in our country and in our lives. The military men and women, the everyday people who traveled on the jets, the business people who worked in the World Trade Center, the people on the street…every life that was lost was precious; and the grief never becomes anything less than what it should be! The grieving process is different for everyone…but, it is the bridge from a place of denial to an acceptance of a life that has been changed, due to a loss of the life of a loved one. At some point, you either become a person cocooned in pain and loss or you move towards a place of healing and acceptance.
How much time has passed since that tragic day. How many things have those people who’s names are called out in the roll-call missed. How many sons and daughters have marked milestones in their lives without parents? How many spouses have witnessed holidays, birthdays, anniversaries, births & deaths without their partners by their side to support them? How many parents, grandparents, grandchildren, neighbors, and friends have been forced to bear witness to life without those who were such a part of their lives?
For those who have valiantly tried to heal from the deep wounds of September 11th; some have found some way of marching into the future…one difficult footstep at a time. Others have been forever stuck in that moment of loss. For those who have been able to move forward painfully…there is no lack of a sense of guilt, for surviving and beginning to enjoy the blessings in life again.
Each milestone of survival is marked by loss…that can’t be forgotten; and yet, to choose not to enjoy what’s left in life to enjoy; is a slap in the face to those who’s lives were lost. Which of them, if given a choice would choose to live a life without thanksgiving, without joy, without celebration… of all the good things before them; if they were able to live again? It does those who were lost no honor, to allow the terrorists to have more “dead” victims than they already stole from the world.
So while we honor those who were lost…let’s not forget those who were left behind to survive. Let’s honor the loved ones, of those who were lost in the attack. At some point, peeling back the scab over and over again can only serve to prevent long-term healing. When, might September 11th become just another day again? Can it ever become just another day…probably not? Should it ever become something else besides an acknowledgement of the terrorists deeds? Or are we forever bound by loss and respect to the lives lost, to always carry the scar of history ? Is it possible to take back some of the power that the terrorists stole from us by reclaiming that day as just another day?
Write where you are 