8 Years Ago Today...

8 years ago today I woke up sick and decided to stay home from school.  It had been one month exactly since we left Texas.  I was only a few weeks into my Senior year at my new school.  

I turned on the TV to watch the Today Show like any other morning.  And that's what it was.  

Until it wasn't.  

On that day it became obvious what our lives would revolve around for a long time.  Sometimes heart wrenchingly, sometimes frustratingly.  The yearbook from my senior year is full of 9/11 photos and memories.  

My dad's boss sent him home that day.  I didn't really understand why until I heard the estimated number of dead.  

3,000

My parents lived through the assassinations of JFK, Bobby Kennedy, and Martin Luther King.  They watched the Vietnam War and John Lennon's death on TV.  

My generation didn't have that.  

We had vague recollections of the first Gulf War.  And papers about Bosnia from school.

Those who know me or read this blog to any extent know that I am fiercely Liberal.  I am not a "flag waver" and I don't think that the US is the best country in the world.  I think all countries have value.  I do think that this is an amazing country and I feel blessed to live here.  

I have a relative who fought in the Revolutionary War.

My Great-Grandfather signed up with the Navy at 14 (thanks to forged papers) and shipped off to fight in WWI, marking his place in history as the youngest American to fight in a foreign war.  

I think that all of us -  Conservative and Liberal,  Religious and Atheist,  Young and Old,  Rich and Poor can agree that some very brave people fought fires, corralled traffic, and died on 9/11. 

I think they would want us to appreciate this country without forgetting that we all have a lot of work to do to make this place better.  

Let's take this day to remember but also to look forward.  

Let's create a tomorrow that we can all be proud of.  

One that would make them proud of us.