Tuesday, September 11, 2007

Forever Remembered


The girl of yesteryear seems so far away from the woman I am now.

I awoke before my boyfriend left for work. After kissing him bye and seeing him off, I went back to bed. The TV was on, but I wasn't paying any attention - at least not when the broadcast first started. I wasn't a big fan of the news programs. The phone rang, and it was the temp service asking me to go to an interview the next day. I took down the information, excited at the possibility that this job may last longer than the last assignment they gave me. Money was money, though, and I had my fingers crossed.

Something about the news broadcast caught my attention. It could have been the broadcaster's tone of voice, or maybe it was the image of the burning building. I turned up the TV.

And watched as the other tower was hit.

For a few minutes I pondered the possibility that I was asleep and dreaming. The phone rang again.

"Are you watching this?" he said to me.

All I could think of to say was, "Is this for real?"

I don't remember the rest of the conversation, only I made sure to tell him I loved him just in case. I still do a lot of "just in case" things. At the time, though, I was 21, unemployed, and had just moved in with my boyfriend of 3 months in Memphis, TN. I was totally in love with him but very insecure and wounded from my last relationship. I was unsure about a lot of things in life, and the images on the TV only roused my insecurities even more.

I stayed glued to the TV the rest of the morning. It still seemed unreal. I followed the stories, investigations, rescues, and clean-up for a long time. I checked on the few friends I had in NYC. I mourned for those who lost loved ones. I prayed for them to have the means to find peace through their grief.

I went on the interview the next day and got the job. That job eventually let me to where I am now. I married the boyfriend, and now we have a beautiful baby girl who's growing faster than I can blink. The world moved on, and certain events were set into motion. And today I emailed a Marine to let him/her know that I appreciate they job they are doing.

If you'd like to email them, all it takes is 2 seconds. I literally typed two sentences and hit send. Here's the email that inspired me:

Send a Marine an E-Mail

"US Marine Colonel Simcock, the commander of USMC Regimental Combat Team 6 in Iraq, is asking for 6,000 positive emails to his Marines.

That's one email for each Marine in his RCT command. COL Simcock is concerned about the effect of the negative barrage that those Marines are getting through the electronic media. I've attached an excerpt from an interview with him. So far, they've only mustered 2,000 emails. That's a crying shame compared to the amount of crap I get daily in email.

"This is a legitimate request. It's not one of the "little Johnny wants to break the world's record in Christmas cards" situations. It takes only 30 seconds of your time. Here's the address:

"If you're reading this email, then you can probably click on the address, type a few words, and then hit "send" to be all done.It doesn't have to be the Gettysburg Address. Something as simple as "Hello, Marine. We thank you for what you're doing. You are in a noble task. Don't let anyone tell you otherwise. Best wishes & get home soon" is more than sufficient.

7 comments:

MaNiC MoMMy™ said...

Oh Andrea, so beautifully put. And it made me so happy to read that the boyfriend you loved then is the husband you married and the one you created tree fairie with.

I am going to send an email to a marine right now.

xo

MaNiC MoMMy™ said...

OK this is what I just wrote, and I'm crying through it all:

I think I am sending this email to a marine. I want to thank you for all the sacrifices you have made to keep us safe day in and day out. I can't imagine having to leave your family to fight for your country, and I am so ever grateful that you brave men and women do this for us.

I am sure today is an awfully hard day for you. I was not thinking about the events of this morning six years ago all that much when I first woke up, but now being on the internet I can't get away from it, and it has brought me to tears too many times in one day today. On that day, I had a three year old, a two year old, and a nine-day old, and I remember thinking, "Why am I bringing my children into a world like this?"

Now I know why. Because no matter what, we live for each day and we love fully and completely and we know that that's why we are put on this earth. And I thank you from the bottom of my heart to the tears that I am crying right now. Thank you. And if you are currently serving, which I think you are, I will especially pray for you, your family, and your safe return.

The only fitting words here:

God Bless America.

Amen.

And thank you!
Stephanie Elliot

KATE said...

Andrea- Thanks so much! I found you from Manic! I loved your post, thanks for sharing with us! I'm off to write a note to a Marine right now! I also know a few, thanks for the reminder to email them today.
- Kate

Carrie and Troy Keiser said...

Thanks for sharing this I sent a letter once before and I will again.

The Anti-Wife said...

Andrea,
These stories are hard to tell - I know mine was. Thanks for sharing your story and for stopping by my blog.

XYZinn said...

That was a great story. I had my first date with my now husband on 9-15, just 4 days after 9-11. I will always remember the date because of the attacks. Isn't it funny how life continued on after all of that? When I first read that you still had your interview I thought that was weird, but then I remember I had to go to work as well the day after the attacks.

Patti said...

email sent! thanks for the link.