Good Saturday to you from our corner of the world where Fall is gracing us with cooler temps at night and a bit of color here and there in the leaves. We are not seeing or hearing many birds ~ just crows and Blue Jays now, but soon we will be able to hear the ducks and geese as they gather to fly south. Fall is slowly beginning to grace us. I only wish the season was longer....much longer.
Today is September 11th, and the 20th anniversary of 9-11. I am sure we all can remember what we were doing that morning....where we were when terrorist attacks shook up our country. I was sitting in our living room recliner watching Good Morning America when it was interrupted by the report of a plane hitting one of the World Trade Center towers. I called Joel to tell him as he was already at work. He said "okay, see you for lunch". I don't think he realized it was a very large plane.....and only a few minutes later I watched the second plane hit the second tower. I called Joel and again and he said he would be home in a short while......and then the Pentagon was hit......and this time when I called him he said, I am on my way home. We all realized quickly that our country was under attack, didn't we. I remember talking to our oldest in Chicago and asking her where her husband was, was he ok....as who knew where these terrorists were going to hit next. I prayed for our son working as a police officer in a big city....I could not pull myself away from the TV that day......or the next.........or for so many days after that. It shook our country, the world, to the core.
Joel had served in the Air Force for 8 years, and when we knew that President Bush was declaring war, Joel and I discussed him going back in as a Chaplain. Turns out he was too old at age 55. They needed priests but not protestant pastors. And that was okay.
There have been several shows this week on the TV about 9-11 and one that Joel and I watched was called "Women of 9-11" with Robin Roberts. It was difficult for us to watch so I cannot imagine what those who lived through it feel...........those who lost loved ones........those who experienced the weight of it all as they relive that day and what followed. We did see a program last night on Minnesotans who experienced 9-11 first hand or in the war that followed.
Six months after 9-11 Joel went with other Lutheran pastors across the country to NYC and the surrounding state to help out by giving pastors a break from what they had been dealing with. Joel (and our son Matt) went out to New York for 5 days. Joel ended up going to the oldest Lutheran church in the whole state to give that pastor a rest. Being there and going to NYC itself, seeing "Ground Zero", and the city six months after this horrific event, was sobering and raw and Joel felt, a privilege.
In 2013 we drove to a Lutheran Healing Conference in Connecticut. While search for a whole foods one day we asked a woman if she could help us out.. She was very cautious until she saw our plates that said Iowa....then she talked to us. We told her we were heading to NYC soon and planned to see "Ground Zero, the museum, and the place where the names were etched in granite. She told me that she and her husband knew several people who died that day and they had never been down there. Too painful. Back here in Iowa we knew of no one who died or was affected. It is sad and held some emotional from a distance memories, but certainly nothing like those whose lives were centered around the East Coast. Some of the stories shared are sad and painful to hear, and yet they are the stories of people who have mostly picked their lives back up and moved forward as best they could to be grateful for each day. And is that not all we get? One day at a time....
We headed to Rochester MN this week to shop. So many stores have closed down here in our city that it is difficult to find any dressy clothes. We have our youngest getting married this fall and I have found it very difficult to find anything to wear. Seriously. I have not shopped for a few years and wow...there is zippo out there. And buying on line is not so easy either! Anyone else struggle with shopping for clothes? I keep telling myself something will come up but oh boy time is a wasting!
Joel is off biking this morning with a group from Trinity Lutheran Church. We become members there tomorrow. It is a bit strange to be in a church where Joel is not the pastor. We are adjusting..........(grin) It took me a few days to get back to myself after the procedures. I just don't do so well with meds used I guess.
Today I am grateful for how our country came together after 9-11 as it gives me hope for the future.....grateful for the peace that comes from knowing where our loved ones reside after death, grateful for the clothes I will (future tense) soon find for the wedding! Grateful for Fall colors, smells, and weather, texting, phone calls, hugs, laughter, tears, and gift of life!
Enjoy your weekend!
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