September 11, 2006
Five Years Later

It's being called Patriot's Day and is a day for remembering. It has been 5 years since September 11th.

No one needs to say September 11, 2001. No one needs to be reminded what happened that day. It is forever in our minds.

Even children just now approaching 5 themselves know that 9-11 holds ominous memories and that their parents and other adults change their moods when the date is mentioned.

We all knew it the day it happened - our lives were going to change forever. We would no longer feel safe. No longer think of war as something that happens on the other side of the world.

In the days following 9-11-2001 we heard from our neighbors, around the corner and around the world and they offered prayers, strength, and compassion - anything we needed. And we held onto each other accepting those things and at the same time offering them in return.

As the days started to turn into weeks into months and even years that closeness of a common enemy began to fade. We know longer look to others for their help or offer help of our own.

The one positive thing that may have come out of 9-11 was a deeper appreciation of how short our time with friends, family and loved ones really is. We knew that 9-12-2001.

The question is - do we know it today?

The lasting memory should not be of 9-11, but of the way we felt on 9-12.