Karen Mom of Three's Craft Blog: Remembering September 11th

Sunday, September 11, 2011

Remembering September 11th

Shirt made by ABeeLine Etsy Shop
Click the above link for the listing

If you are old enough to remember the significance of this day in recent history then you may have a story of your own. Ten years ago I was visiting my sister in Victoria, BC while she was away at University, with my husband and my young son. We had stayed in a hotel and not gotten up early which was unusual. When my son woke up, I took him for a walk around our hotel, which was next to one of Canada's Military buildings, I remember pushing Nick in his stroller and noticing that every one of the military personal was carrying very large guns. Now I am Canadian and a military presence fully armed is not a normal every day occurrence. I remember thinking that I was in a very touristy section of the city and perhaps seeing them decked out with their weapons was perhaps for display purposes only, Oh how I wish that were true.

I also remember it was so very quiet. For a busy down town street, it was really weird. No one was smiling and I got a really weird feeling and quickly walked back to our hotel. When I got back to the room, my husband was sitting at the end of the bed watching TV and asked me if I knew what was going on. I did not and then we both turned to the screen to see a replay of the planes hitting the towers in New York.
I have never been so sickened in my life. We quickly realized it was not a plane accident, and then we heard there was fear of more attacks. We decided to pack up get in our car and drive as quickly as we could to the ferry boat for the 2 hour trip to get our selves home. Things in the world were changing and fast.
As we drove to the ferry we tried to get information on our car radio and what was coming in was very scary, by the time we got to the boat, there were signs of panic and fear everywhere, people were crying, everyone was listening to the radio news and no one knew what to do. On the boat, I could tell who was visiting from the USA and the silence except for the crying and hushed speaking voices made that boat ride very nerve racking. When we were back safe at home we watched as the American Government launched their own attack and never turned of CNN for days. It was a very scary time. Looking back now ten years later, the fear I felt then was paralyzing. Days after the attacks, Airplanes were still not flying in North America and I remember taking Nicholas, with a group of young moms for a walk on our local sea wall. It was so strange to not hear the roar of the seaplane engines which is normal for where I live. There were about a dozen of us new moms and our babies walking along the sea wall, when a passer by stopped us and said we were very "brave" to be taking out children out to a public place at such a difficult time. I did not feel brave, non of us did, we were looking for normal. But now the world had a new normal we had to get use to.
I have great respect for our Military men and women both here in Canada, the USA and who are stationed around the world. I can not imagine the sacrifice that the families of these brave men and women make so we can feel safe and carry on our every day lives.

I was in New York in April, with my sister and best friend Becky, I went to the American Girl doll store and did normal touristy things while I was there. I was thankful to have the opportunity to visit New York and feel closer to that part of history. Today I am truly thankful and reflect on the events of September 11th, the lives that were lost and the day that the world changed yet again. I would prefer to focus on the heros and the positive changes that have happened since September 11, 2001. I also have to wonder if one day the American Girl company will have a Historical doll with a story from this time in our recent history . I hope they do. There are so many wonderful Military families with girls who love American Girl Dolls and if you are one of them and are reading my post I would love to hear your story and share it with my readers. I would also like to share with you some wonderful outfits for American Girl dolls that are made and sold on Etsy that I think help mark and remember the hero's of this day.