5 years

It is so hard to believe that it has been 5 years. That morning I was sitting in my office and had Good Morning America on the office TV. When Charlie and Diane said there had been a plane hit the WTC I went to wake my husband. With no real details at the beginning, we naively thought it was just a horrible accident. As we sat there we saw a plane on the right side of the screen. As it hit the second tower we were speechless. I live in a bubble where all is good and fair and for that moment I truly thought it was just another horrible accident--maybe a plane flying too close to get a better look. I am not sure at what point it dawned on me that this was intentional--actually 5 years later I still find it hard to believe. When minutes later we heard about the Pentagon and the United flight that was "missing" and ended up in a field, all I could think was that I had to go get the kids out of school because I was the only one that could make them safe. I had a visceral reaction that I had never had before. For the first time in my life I really wondered if this was the end. I didn't personally know anyone in the WTC's but I am the wife of a police officer and I know what dangers they face daily and I don't doubt that the men and women rushing INTO that building to help others get out, did exactly what my husband would have done. I am in NO WAY minimizing the lives of all of the WTC workers that were lost, it is a tragedy all the way around, but I do know there is something that makes police officers and firefighters tick a little differently than the rest of us. I will allow myself to feel moved and sad today and make sure to give my guys an extra hug when they get home today.