I was getting ready for work at a preschool in downtown Tulsa. The television was on the Today Show. I wasn’t paying much attention in all honesty. I received a call from my now ex-husband to see if I was watching television because a plane just crashed into one of the World Trade Center towers. I went into the bedroom and a few moments later I witnessed the second plane hit the other tower. I just remember everything seeming to move in slow motion from that point forward. The sounds of my kids playing in the next room, blissfully unaware. How do you explain to a four and three-year old? You don’t. Driving to work against a steady stream of traffic leaving the offices and downtown Tulsa. Terrified parents picking up their kids, not sure what was going to happen next. The surreal images flashed on the television screen. This couldn’t be happening. It couldn’t be real. But it was.
Forward 10 years. I’m now explaining to my 14-year-old daughter the events and feelings of that day. She is old enough to grasp the event, even though none of us will ever understand it. Thankfully, she doesn’t recall the events of that day. She asks me what I was doing, and what she was doing. We’ve watched the news coverage, we’ve read the articles. It’s just as painful to watch 10 years removed.
America may have its problems, but one thing remains…the determination of people to overcome adversity, pull together, and remain strong. It is our lasting legacy.
Mad Rabbit Photography 