I’ve spent part of my morning watching the rebroadcast of the events of 9/11 on CNN and NBC. It is so interesting to look back and remember what we were being told about these events. At first there were arguments about bombs vs. airplanes, then what size the airplanes were, and then when the second plane hits, they’re trying to decide if it was truly another plane or if the first building had caught the second building on fire. Then there is this 2 minute discussion about air traffic controllers sending planes on a bad flight plan to JFK, causing these devastating crashes. It is strange how on that morning, 5 years ago, it was the last thing on our mind that someone would actually try and harm the USA. It seemed so ‘Hollywood’ to imagine such a scenario, and watching the live rebroadcast reminds me of how naive we all were that day.

For me the memory of 9/11 is creates mixed feelings of joy and horror. The morning of September 11th, my wife and I discovered that we were pregnant with our first born. We had been trying to get pregnant for months, and the positive test was an answered prayer. We both decided to skip school that day, and go see the Dr. to confirm our positive test; then spend the day calling friends and family about our new baby. We were watching the Today show when they broke in about the first tower being on fire. After watching that for a few minutes out of curiosity, I got in the shower. I remember my wife screaming, and jumping out of the shower to see that a second plane had hit the other tower. I remember watching TV for hours waiting for our Dr. appointment, thinking that I must be crazy to bring a little child into THIS kind of world. Our Dr. appointment was in Downtown Dallas, and I can remember than downtown was a ghost town. Nobody walking around, everyone had left for the day. And I can remember sitting in the Dr.’s office looking at the tall buildings in Dallas just imagining what it must be like in NYC.

After calling a few friends about our Happy Baby news, we decided to just keep it to ourselves for a few days. Seems nobody was as excited for us, as they were devasted about the day’s events. The weirdest combination of joy and fear I’ve ever experienced. Hope I never have to exprience it again.