9/11 Memory

Everyone has a story on this tragic 8 year anniversary. Here's mine. Hubby and I went to the gym around 5 AM. That day I was sleepy after my workout, so while he jumped in the shower, I got back in bed and was listening to the radio. There was a brief news blip that a plane crashed into one of the towers in NYC. I visualized a dumb little plane with a problem that grazed the building. Hubby pops his head out of the bathroom door and asks if I can get his lunch together. No problem. I head to the kitchen, stuff his lunch box with a sandwich an applesauce and some carrots. I get back into bed and hear on the radio that our country is under attack. What? A plane goes in one tower, not a little plane, a big old jet carrying lots of passengers and, then a second jet goes into the other tower. Then the Pentagon is hit, and all planes are ordered to land. In about 15 minutes, I went from thinking some curtain wall was crumbled to our entire country is up in flames. We never turned on the TV, I just kept listening on the radio.
Hubby went off to work and I woke up Sonny boy with the news. He got in the shower and was singing "We Didn't Light the Fire," by Billy Joel, at the top of his lungs.
Hubby calls and asks if we were going to work/school. Of course, was my answer. But it was mind numbing. I actually told the parents of the student I was an aide to, what had happened. The Dad said he will always see my face when he thinks of that day. Is that a good thing?
The second day, when Sonny boy awoke he asked if everything was normal. I told him nothing else happened, but nothing is normal.
Later, when I was walking to my car after work, a woman in front of me said, "It's nice to hear someone whistling."
"I was?" I ask her. Some molecule in my brain had a cheery spot.
She said, "I remember Pearl Harbor. This is worse." There went that molecule.
I remember going to the gym, shopping, taking care of things, but feeling as if I moved too quickly, I would shatter.
What a wake up call.
God Bless those who lost their lives that day in that act of war.