I was a young, 17 year-old mom on the morning of September 11, 2001.  I got up like any other morning and got my baby girl her breakfast and then sat down on the couch with her and turned on the television. What I saw had my mouth hanging open and my eyes wide. Were they saying that our country had been attacked? It all seemed so unreal to me as I saw a news reporter in New York stating that a plane had flown into one of the Twin Towers. And then the other one. What happened next was chaos. People jumping from the top of the towers to their deaths. I can’t even imagine what would have been going through their minds, how fearful they must have been in their last moments. The family members screaming outside the place where their loved ones were working, hoping against hope that they would make it out alive. And the heroic police and firemen who gave their lives so others could live. It is a day that should never be forgotten by anyone in our country.

And not only should we never forget the day, we should never forget the patriotism, love, and pride for our country that followed. I can still feel the sense of camaraderie that prevailed everywhere over the next few months. One particularly small event has stuck in my mind for all these years. A day or two after 9/11, I was in line at the store and when I got to the counter I realized I forgot my wallet. I was turning to go when a stranger behind me paid for my things. It was just a few dollars and such a small gesture but looking in his eyes and the eyes of the other people in line I could sense the unspoken-We will stick together, no matter what.

We as American’s prayed for our country like never before during that time. We fought for our country. We fought for our liberties and freedoms, so that we would not become like the cowards that attacked us on our soil. Let us remember how it felt to want to protect our country so fiercely. Let us remember how proud we were of our citizens. Let us remember how grateful we were for our freedoms and how we weren’t going to let anyone take that away from us. Let us remember to pray for our great nation like we did back then. Let us never forget.

picture credit: https://www.flickr.com/photos/911pics/7835973648/in/photostream/