Remembering the Fallen- and Falling.

This September 11, it seems like a good time to reflect on something I think about a lot. Every day, actually. Which is how knocks-my-breath-out grateful I am for the safely and the peace of my home.
On THE September 11th, even though most of us watched from safe distances, we still felt shaken. Something most of us take for granted was completely shattered for a day.
There was the Fear- consuming, stunting, numbing- that completely overwhelms. It shut us down. It stirred us up. It pushed everything else aside. It gripped us tight.
Today I am remembering those who lost lives and loved ones. I'm remembering those like my dad, who rushed into the flames to help those rushing out. I'm thinking of those like J who have pledged their lives to keeping us safe, especially those who have suffered so much for that goal.
I am taking some time to close my eyes and Thank. With every fiber of my everything I have, for waking up each morning with my husband, with my daughter, and NOT wondering if we will all make it through the day. For tucking my baby into bed with an amazing kind of certainty that the only nightmares She will experience, are in Her sleep. I'm putting my hands on the walls of my home, and appreciating that they are standing. That I am so sure that tomorrow they will be strong around us. I'm saying a prayer of thanks that horrors like that of September 11 are so rare in my homeland, hopefully less than once in a lifetime. I am loving my country, and my countrymen.
And. Today I am also remembering the so, so many people in this world, for whom that Overwhelming Fear is present every. single. day. For those who feel as I did when I watched that plane hit the tower- but feel it always. And are somehow expected to go on with the business of living. Of trying to raise their children. Of trying to be human. There are millions. All over the world. In the neighborhoods not so far from mine. Yours. Today my heart goes out to those for whom being terrified and uncertain are 'normal'.
And among my prayers of healing for the 9/11 victims and their families, my prayers of gratitude for those who save and protect us, and for the safety we take for granted, I am also saying prayers of compassion. Of human understanding. For families and children and nations... and all of us.
Prayers for peace.

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