Where were you when the world stopped turning?

Ten years ago today, my parents and I were on vacation in one of my favorite states- Maine. I was in love with lighthouses and my parents decided to indulge this romanticism and book a night at a renovated lighthouse. It was beautiful. I was getting ready for a day of exploring along the coast when my mom knocked on the door and told me, "A plane has hit one of the Twin Towers in New York City. They don't know why." Those words didn't make sense. I had to think for a minute what exactly the Twin Towers were and what does it mean that a PLANE had hit one? How was that even possible? My parents and I watched the news all morning, horrified by the events that were unfolding. I saw that it very much was possible and was done with deliberate, evil intent. My thoughts were on a Marine I had just met six months before. Also, on my friend's sister (another Marine) who was working at the Pentagon where another plane had hit. I knew that their lives would be forever changed. Our country had been viciously attacked and this is what they had trained for as one of the few and proud.

I never would have guessed I would marry that Marine and our lives would still be affected by the events on that day ten years ago. My husband deployed twice after 9-11 and is currently on his third deployment. He is gone for an entire year because of that day. I am without my best friend, my soulmate, and the love of my life because of that day. Yet I am a proud Marine wife and a proud American. My heart aches for the families of the men and women who were lost on that day. It aches for the families of the men and women who are still losing their lives because of that day. I am so lucky to know that my husband is alive and well right now, sending me funny emails and telling me how much he misses the cat. (And I'm pretty sure he misses me, too.) I pray with every part of me that this continues to be the case until he is safely back home with me (and the cat, of course).

"People sleep peaceably in their beds at night only because rough men stand ready to do violence on their behalf." George Orwell

Thank you, 'rough men'. (Husband on the left.)

God Bless America!