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It still takes my breath away

Every year around this time I write a 9/11 post. This year will be no different. Yet in some ways it is different. As the years pass, I think about it less and less. It used to weigh on my heart as the anniversary was a few weeks away. But this year, I don't think I thought about until it was about a week away. 

Although I don't think time heals all wounds, time can certainly lessen the memories and the pain. But as I watched streaming video of the remembrance ceremony today, I saw just how raw and painful this day is for those who lost loved ones during that relatively short amount of time. My heart ached for the people whose voices cracked as they read the names of their loved ones. My eyes welled up with tears, particularly as I watched and heard young people say the names of their relatives and most definitely when someone had lost a parent or child.

Every year I allow myself to be somber and reflective. I always watch a few 9/11 programs; my favorite is "102 Minutes That Changed America." I am very interested in the personal stories. There are many to be told. 

I will never forget that day, what I was doing, where I was. And my reliving it every year helps to ensure this, even though it is painful to me. No matter how   many times I watch the planes crash into the WTC, watch the towers fall, or see people as they jump to their death, I get choked up. I am pretty sure I always will. 

Tomorrow I will go back to the way things were. 

But not today.
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Comments

Unapologetically Mundane said…
It's so interesting how everyone wants to talk about what they were doing that day. It felt so monumental to all of us, and it's even sadder for me to think about now that I live here. I'll see you here when the museum opens.
September 13, 2013 at 3:51 PM
Facie said…
Yes, yes, you will!
September 14, 2013 at 7:37 PM
Facie said…
Well, to be clear, I won't be there right when it opens, but I have every intention of getting there in the next couple of years. Now that my kid is 10, I want to take her there and to DC in the next few years.
September 14, 2013 at 7:37 PM
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