Hard to believe it has been 10 years

This weekend will mark the 10th anniversary of the September 11th attacks.  Bruno and I were talking about it the other night and saying that in many ways it seems like yesterday because our memories of that day are so crystal clear (see my blog post from 2009).   But in other ways, it does seem like it has been ten years.  So much has happened - most importantly, the birth of our two beautiful girls.  Ten years ago, we could sit in front of the television for hours on end watching the coverage.  Now I find myself turning the tv off as soon as they start any coverage of it because I don't want the girls to see.

A couple of days ago, we were talking about how we should talk with Grace about this.  Living in Washington, DC, we knew that there would be a great deal of tv coverage, flags flying everywhere, people reflecting and praying about that day.  I looked on-line and found some interesting information and some good posts. But none of it seemed just right.  I wanted to tell her the basics without scaring her or having her worry every time we fly on a plane.  But what are the "basics" of the most tragic day in our most recent history and a day that so many of us lived through?  I somehow came up with the following.

Yesterday, Grace came home from school and said, "Did you know that 9-11 is an important day?" I asked what she learned about it. She said one of the teachers told their class that she had been working at the school then and could see the smoke from the Pentagon. I asked her "what else did she tell you" Grace said "oh nothing else really..." She asked me if I could see the smoke.  I told her I could not but that her dad did when he left work early that day and drove by the Pentagon.

So we talked about it some more. I basically told her that there were some very bad people who wanted to hurt Americans. And that they damaged the Pentagon and two very big buildings in NYC and a lot of people died. (I didn't get into the planes...) She asked, "Why would people from America want to hurt other Americans?" I explained that they were not from America and that they didn't like that people in America had so many freedoms.  They thought that there should be many more rules. She asked if they were in jail for what they did. So I told her that they had died trying to hurt Americans. She said how strange that was that someone would die trying to hurt someone else.

I told her that we are all much safer now and that she doesn't need to worry about anyone hurting us. I told her that she may hear a lot of different stories about what happened that day but that she should ask me or Bruno if she ever wants more information or has any questions.

Then she asked me, "If you were born on Feb. 29, do you only celebrate your birthday every 4 years?" She is a master at changing uncomfortable discussions : )

September 11 is a hard day for all Americans, but especially those who lost loved ones.  And for those who were living in NYC or Washington, DC.  We drive by the Pentagon all the time and we see the memorial that is now in place.  I clearly remember driving by and seeing a gaping hole in that building for months.  And so we pray for those who lost loved ones and for those whose familes are currently serving our country.  We will never forget.