In Remembrance . .

This morning, we all got ready, ate breakfast and started loading into the car. Mairyn noticed that there were flags in every other yard along the street. She asked me if it was another Labor Day. (Because that's the last time a bunch of random flags were in the lawn) No, I said, it's September 11th. That did not ring any bells with them. I KNOW I've told them about it, but, I guess it takes a couple of times to sink in.

I tried to be tactful; I really wasn't prepared for an extremely in-depth analysis with them. And truthfully, they wouldn't be either! So, I told them about how terrorists --

"What's a terrorist, Mommy?"

"They are people that want to scare and hurt other people on purpose."

"Why?"

"I don't know."

So, the terrorists took the planes by force and crashed 4 into different buildings. The Pentagon --

"A Pentagon is a five-sided shape!!" Eliza offered.

"Yes, yes it is."

So they crashed one of the planes into the Pentagon, two in the World Trade Center Twin tower in New York City --

"Oh, the ones that Philippe walked between?" (there is a book we got about a man that walked a tightrope between the twin towers. caldecott winner, great read.")

"Yes, that one."

And on we continued, me talking, them injecting random thoughts & comments. I think it made some kind of impression. But it's something that will always be in their history. It wasn't always in mine. In the end, Mairyn tried summing it up,

"So the tourists crashed planes -- "

"Terrorists, Mairyn."

"Yeah. Right. Terrorist crashed planes . . etc."

I didn't want to assign a nationality to who these particular terrorists were. We have lived in the Middle East for most of my children's cognitive memory. They see Arabs differently than most people do. And that is one thing that makes me so grateful for the oppotunity we've been afforded in living overseas. Sure, it sucks that I don't have many "American conveniences" at my fingertips. (I still love you, Target. You know that.) But when I reflect upon the impact and impressions that are being made upon my children, it makes it all worth it. That I can teach them to see more than just a label; "a terrorist" or "Arab" and not have the connotations that some people conjure upon hearing those words. They hear "Arab" and go, "Oh yeah, Tamer was my best buddy, he was the best at hide and go seek." or "Muslim" and say, "Muslims pray 5 times a day. The art teacher, Ms. Gharib had a cool colored prayer rug."

September 11th will always stir strong feelings in me. Feelings of patriotism, sadness, mourning and the longing for something lost. It's hard to put a finger on the exact emotions, but I do know that I will never forget exactly where I was & what I was doing when that day unfolded. I don't hold any grudges, just a desire to make the future a better one for my children.

4th of July, 2009