Here's my story...
I was working at an insurance agency at 69th street. One of the broker's fiancee lived and worked in NYC (not at the twin towers.) The phone rang a few cubicles over. You could hear in his voice that the phone call was serious. He kept saying "what!?!" over and over again. It was a short call, maybe only about 3 minutes. He hung up the phone and immediately told the office that a plane had just hit one of the twin towers.
This was before anyone new, before we new it was a terrorist attack and not just an accident, before it was on the news...before everything changed.
About 5 minutes later the boss had his TV on and it finally made it to the news. We all took turns cramming into his small office to watch. Then the second tower was hit. We now knew this wasn't an accident. By this point my co-worker had lost cell phone connection with his fiance but felt a little less nervous knowing she was several blocks away.
The next several hours...days...weeks are a bit of a blur. Something huge happened, something shocking, and something life changing for everyone. The thing that blows my mind about this experience were the 10 years after. I know how much my life has changed. 10 years ago I was working a job that I had gotten through a temp agency. I was not a teacher, I had no idea that I would one day be teaching blind and deaf students, I was a college drop out, and had no idea what I wanted to do with my life. Over the past 10 years I have moved 5 times, I have re-started school and graduated...with honors. I have gotten a job, a job that I feel I'm supposed to have. I have grown as a person, a teacher, a musician, and a leader. I have witnessed my family welcome a husband and a wife into our crazy clan (then later we said adios to one of those spouses.) I have 2 new nephews (and a puppy niece.) I have watched friends get married, have children, get divorced, move away and move into fun and exciting adventures in their own lives. But the interesting this is that through all of this, I can remember 9-11-01 like is happened just weeks ago.
Today we've all heard stories of people and their 9-11 experience. We all have them. The metaphors for this event are so numerous. Many of us have had our own "9-11 events." Things that have happened in our own lives. Tragic things. Life changing things. Thing that we will remember forever. Many of us have our own "ground zero." A place in our hearts that we have been excavating debris, remembering what was in our past and using it to strengthen and support our future. We each have a story to tell. We each have something that will impact our future. No matter what our lives look like in the past and in the present, it is our whole life that impacts our future and makes us who we are today.
Who are you?
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