Remembering 9/11

Certain dates will forever be event markers in my life. I measure everything by event markers.

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 One marker is November 9, 1989 was my sister's 14th birthday. It was also the night the Berlin Wall fell. We lived in Berlin then, and were celebrating her birthday at Tempelhof Airport. (At that time, the airport was occupied by the US. One of the features was a recreation center that included a bowling alley, snack bar, basketball courts, etc.)

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Another marker is September 11, 2001. It is a date that our country will never forget (though we may not always recognize it), and that brought much pain and sadness to so many. Today,I realized that for me, it was a probably a catalyst for so many things that would occur in the following 12 months.

The morning of 9/11, I was mid flight on my first solo business trip, when the first plane hit the tower.

My flight was grounded at Hartsfield-Jackson Airport in Atlanta, GA. We didn't know why we landed, our pilot only said there a was an issue. I didn't have a cell phone (my how times have changed!), and paid someone on the flight to call and check in at work. While I was on the phone, we found out what had happened.

Hundreds of flights were grounded, ours wasn't anything special. When we were finally able to get off the plane, we couldn't get our luggage. No one could.

The lines to rent cars were crazy long, but it didn't matter. All of the cars were rented within the first half hour. You couldn't even rent a U-Haul truck. Everything was rented.

I ended up staying in Atlanta for 4 or 5 days - I can't even remember how long. 

I was able to check into a hotel room, and my sister (and her then husband) drove to visit me from North Carolina. I met my first niece, for the first time and completely fell in love. I was so grateful that they came to see me.

In the following year...

• I was very angry with God (for many, many reasons).
• I left the religion I was raised in.
• I met my birth mother. 
• I had a "real" boyfriend.
• I got pregnant.
• I got laid off.
• I moved to Texas. 
• I made a lot of mistakes.
• I placed my son for adoption.
• I lost a lot of "friends" due to the adoption.

So many things happened after that terrible day. I think they probably would have happened anyway, but I will always mark them by my event date of 9/11.

Many things have occured in my life, since that day, which gives me much, much happier date markers. But, I can't help but reminisce and remember who and where I was on that terrible day.

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