Kim's Story: Where were you on 9/11?

The morning of September 11, 2001 started out like any other typical Tuesday morning.  I was a stay-at-home mom with a young toddler, and my daughter and I had just walked in to my MOPS (Mothers of Preschoolers) meeting.  Typically, the venue was abuzz with young mothers happy to be out of the house and socializing with others, so it wasn’t out of the ordinary to hear current events being discussed.  However, there was something about the vibe that morning was a bit different.
 
People were saying that a plane had hit the World Trade Center.  Since our meeting started at 9:00 a.m. not much was known yet about the crash.  There was a lot of speculation on what happened, and most of us just assumed it was a small private jet and something with the pilot went drastically wrong.  Could he have been on drugs?  Did something with the plane malfunction?  I honestly don’t think anyone in the room suspected it was a terrorist piloting a large commercial airliner, and certainly no one understood the magnitude of that event or how the world would forever be changed.
****

Since then, my children (one of which wasn’t even born at the time of 9-11) have grown up in a different world than I did.  While neither of them remembers 9-11, they have seen documentaries, read books, and heard stories about it.  Since they have an uncle in the military who has served several overseas deployments, we have spent a lot of time talking about war, terrorism, and what happened on that date. 

On a recent trip to New York City, we brought them to Ground Zero.  While the spot where the Twin Towers once stood is currently a construction site, nearby St. Paul’s Chapel drove home the magnitude of what happened eleven years ago.  The kids suspended their regular bickering and were completely somber while they looked at what was inside.  It was a simple chapel filled with memorials to those who had lost their lives or volunteered their time to those in need during the days, weeks, and months following the tragedy.  Visiting St. Paul’s is an emotional experience and leaves you feeling like the good in this world outweighs the bad; which is exactly what I hope everyone remembers when they think about 9-11.

Kimberly Danger is the creator of Mommysavers.com, a site dedicated to helping moms live well for less.  She is the author of Instant Bargains:  600+ Ways to Shrink Your Grocery Bills and Eat Well for Less  and The Complete Book of Baby Bargains. She lives in Minnesota with her husband and two kids.