I Will Never Forget

I am an American.  And today is 9-11.  It has been a day of remembering and reflection.  They say that everyone who lives through a profound event like the 9-11 attacks always remembers where they were and what they were doing.  That is certainly true for me. 

Earlier this week I was running some errands and drove past this sight. 

It brought me to tears.   I was surprised by my reaction.  After all, it has been 10 years.  I didn't know anyone personally who died that day, and I didn't live anywhere near Manhattan or Washington, or Pennsylvania. 

In fact, I lived about as far from there as you can get and still be in mainland USA.  We were living in San Diego at the time.  That morning my husband was getting ready for work and I was watching the morning news.  An airplane had flown right into one of the twin towers in NY.   During the news coverage, we watched in horror as the second plane hit.  From that time on through the next days and weeks, I stayed tuned in to the television and radio as many of you did.  American flags quickly appeared everywhere.  They were on cars and homes and businesses.  I took the large flag that had draped my father's coffin and hung it on our home.  We didn't have a flagpole, but we hung it from the roof. 

In the days following 9-11, I was busy working on a quilt I had started earlier that summer.  It was a new design I was trying to finish for Quilt Market--"American Dream." 

I stitched the applique, quilting and binding as I listened to a new American story unfold.  A story of recovery and heroes and strength and courage.  It included pain and sorrow as well as love and pride.

 I will admit that there are more than a few tears sewn into this quilt. 

 It reminds me that we are so blessed to live in this great land! 

 We came together as a nation and turned to one another and to God for strength.

 It reminds me that there are so many who have sacrificed so much so that I can enjoy the freedoms that I have today. 

And so today I hung my large flag on my home again.  I put it up so that it was there when the sun came up.  I wanted to show that I did not forget.  As we drove to church today, every home we passed had a flag outside. 

We will never forget. 

  E Pluribus Unum.