Chilled to the Bone

Ten years ago we were living in Northern Virginia and working in Washington DC. Pete was also working in DC for Congressman Jim Leach at the time, his first job after college graduation. My Mother was alive as well as Bob's Dad. Steve and Pete were not married and we had no grandchildren at the time. Bob was two blocks away from the White House on that fateful day and Pete was across from the Capital. I was home, as I was not scheduled to work. So much has changed for us in the ensuing years. We've lived in three more houses and two more states. Bob has retired, our sons have married, we have three grandchildren, and our parents have passed. For us, all the "normal" things have taken place.

Of course for the many who lost loved ones on 9/11 and in the two wars we've waged, life will never be "normal" again. Certainly most of us did not feel normal during those first few hours when we couldn't comprehend the evil that was taking place. It was such an emotionally draining day as the tragedy unfolded before our eyes. I remember feeling "chilled to the bone". It was a relief indeed when I saw Bob finally walk in the door and got the call from Pete that he made it home. We were lucky to only have witnessed, but not truly suffered during this time in our history.

Today our church had a 9/11 memorial service and we had two Muslim guests share their stories. We worshipped together with them, each respecting each other's religious faith. Throughout history there have been so many horrible things done in the name of "religion". Today something good happened at our church as we prayed for peace, exchanged hugs, & shed tears. We ended with a blessing of the children, most who weren't alive ten years ago. Let's hope and pray that they never have to witness a day like that in their lifetimes to come.