remember?

. . . "thine alabaster cities gleam, undimmed by human tears" . . .

I debated on whether or not to blog today, but I just can't let the day go by without recording my memories, mostly just for myself. It was the weirdest day, wasn't it? I remember turning on the Today show that morning while I played with little Audrey on the floor. I saw the second plane hit and watched both towers fall. I called my parents, but they weren't awake yet or they were out of town. I wanted to talk to someone, so I called Neal's mom and we cried together on the phone, looking at our TVs in disbelief. Watching all those people in the streets desperate to find their loved ones, showing pictures to the camera, as if we could help, and knowing deep down that they wouldn't find them. I still can't believe it happened, that both buildings just fell down. I remember Neal calling and I asked him to please come home, I wanted to be close to him, remember that feeling? I had a hard time smiling at my adorable little girl that day, and now I wonder when I'll have to tell her about what those horrible people did. To tell her without scaring her. It's history now, and she'll learn about it, but I want her to know what it was really like to watch it happen and feel so helpless. That's as real as it was for me.

. . . "who more than self their country loved, and mercy more than life" . . .