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Today will be the first and the last time I write about 09/11/01, not because it’s too painful but because this milestone will only happen once.
On this day 18yrs ago, I was preparing training sessions and because our conference center was at capacity we were using one in the John Hancock Tower. A colleague and good friend who worked in the tower had just come back from maternity leave and had dropped her father off at the airport as he was on his way back home. As we are preparing for the group to start arriving we are listening to the news (like we always do) and the unthinkable happens at 8:46 am Flight 11 hits the 1st tower, and my colleague drops to her knees, she is sobbing uncontrollably and we finally get to where we can understand her, “that’s my dad’s flight” she says. We are dumbfounded we try to console her (this is very hard as her mother passed the year before), but 15 mins later we see the other plane hit the next tower and we know this is no accident.
We get her husband and he along with family comes to get her and Boston is in official lockdown mode. As the Planner & Sr Coordinator, I’m now in full logistics mode making sure trainees stay where they are at and not to attempt to get to Boston. My husband was frantically searching for me and because I was on the phone I was not answering the phone, it was a day that I wish on anyone.
Aftermath –
On that day a 3 mo. old, 5yr & 7yr lost their grandfather and their mother & a husband lost his wife. With grieving her mom and post-partum, she had a mental break that she has never recovered from. That baby boy never got to know her and she has missed all of their milestones. Her husband is still by her side and his family stepped in and helped as only family can. This year he graduated High School and prepares for college, his older siblings have graduated.
We lived under Marshall Law for a while as they were investigating and trying to get things back to normal. Being married to and into a family of first responders the ringing to the phone was always met with dread.
I don’t miss the chaos what I do miss is people coming together and supporting and loving one another, in spite of what they believed, who they voted for or their color. That day and the day followed was the one time in my life where I saw unity amongst us all.
Let’s keep everyone in prayer because we all were affected one way or another!