Where I Was

This time of year holds a lot of memories for me, some good, some not.

September 9th, 1998- I signed the dotted line and officially joined the United States Army and shipped off to Basic Training.  Oh how long ago that was, yet I still remember it like it was yesterday.  My friends and family that were there.  Tears trying to fall and me trying not to let them.  A history I was leaving behind for a future I had no clue would lead me to where I am now.

July 1999- Meeting the man of my dreams and knowing I would be with him for the rest of my life after only knowing him for two weeks.

October 1999- That man proposed to me.  Yes, Yes, YES!  I loved him more than I could have ever imagined, and somehow, that love I felt is nothing compared to what it is now.  Life with him has been an amazing adventure that just keeps getting better and better.

September 10, 2001- We are a family with an 8 month old son.  Hubby is heading off to Egypt for a deployment, I'm gearing up for a 6 week long field exercise for the Army.  And... I find out we are expecting baby number 2.

September 11, 2001- We hug baby number 1 good-bye as my mother-in-law takes him home to Illinois with her leaving Hubby and me childless so we can do our military duty.

I go to FT Stewart, GA, where I am stationed.  Hubby heads to Hunter Army Airfield where he is stationed.

Then my dad calls me.

A plane has gone off course and hits a World Trade Center tower.  I'm in the middle of a field exercise for the day getting our equipment ready for the long one.

I go to the bathroom in a gym that has a TV in the restroom and see it with my own eyes as "smartphones" were not around yet and news was not at our fingertips.

I tell my section what is going on.

No one believes it.

My dad calls again, the Pentagon is hit.

A plane goes down in a field.

This isn't really happening?            Is it?                It can't be.

I mean, how does an attack happen like this on American Soil so far inland?

I call Hubby.  He is watching it all on TV now.

We can't talk because what can we say?

Our base is locked down... no one in, no one out.  I'm thankful kid 1 is with his grandma getting away from a base.

What if I never see him again?
What if another plane crashes?
What if they get stuck in traffic and can't get home?

I am so scared.
So confused.
I don't know what to think, how to feel.

The base finally allows people to go home.

I hug my hubby and cry.

We go to church and pray for everyone.  For all of those who have passed away.  For those who are working in there trying to get others out.

I want to go to help, but I'm pregnant and can't.

I don't want my husband to go to Egypt.  I'm thankful they pushed the time frame back a couple of weeks.

I need him.
I need to hug my son, but can't he's in Indiana.
I hold my belly instead.

And I cry.

Fast forward to today.

Our country is strong, although our troops are wearing thin. We have been used more than we should have been, but our country needs us, and we stand up for her.

Even though life is busy, I was still able to take the kids to the Gerald R. Ford Presidential Museum for the Boy Scout Salute to honor those who have sacrificed everything for total strangers.

I thank them from the bottom of my heart and will remember them always in my prayers and in teaching my children and exchange students all about what today means to me, our family, our country, and the world we live in.