I've tried to come up with words to express how I feel about today, on the tenth anniversary of 9/11. Words fail me. There's really nothing I can say that hasn't already been said on millions of blog posts around the world. So instead, I'm going to share what we did on this day of remembrance.
We had our usual weekend breakfast of bagels, accompanied by cream cheese, capers, salmon, onion, and fresh tomatoes. It's become somewhat of a tradition for us. Sometimes I will make a frittata or something along that line, but most often, we will have our bagels. We rested a bit, and then went to Valley Falls Park. There is a nice lake there, and walking trails everywhere. We hiked up to the walking path, an old railroad track that has been converted into a nature trail, and found that there was a bike marathon in progress. As we walked along this path, there were many bikes passing us. Kent said that they would end up in Willimantic at a brew pub, and celebrate with what the brew the pub had to offer. Embracing life.
We, on the other hand, walked on the path for aways, and then took a trail down through the forest until we hit the creek below, that eventually feeds into the lake. Along the way, we took notice of all the life around us; the ferns, the wild mushrooms, the water. And when we got back to the lake, we noticed a few dogs that were taking pleasure in swimming in the lake as their owners threw sticks out into the water for them to retrieve. Embracing life.
On our way back around the lake, we went past a few fishermen who were fishing in the lake. One said, "What time is it?" The other answered, "About 1:30." The other replied, "That explains why I'm getting hungry." The other replied in a laughter, "You got that right!". Nothing special. Just people living out their lives in harmony with simple pleasures. Embracing life.
So I suppose you could say we spent our day embracing life, and remember those who no long have life. I remember vividly 9/11, and the horror of that day. I was working from home, and the news was on. I remember calling Kent to tell him that some plane had hit the first tower, and while I was on the phone, I went into shock as I saw in real time the second plane hit the second tower. There was silence. I tried to explain to Kent what was happening, but all that came out was, "On my God, I think we are being attacked."
So many years later, and countless lives lost, we spent our day surrounded by life, and embracing it. And remembering the sacrifice that so many in our country have made; the civilians who lost their lives on this day ten years ago, and our soldiers who severed their country valiantly in the years that followed.
We spent our day embracing life. This is the best tribute I know to those who are no longer with us. This is what they would want us to do, I think.
Embrace life.
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