The Day That Heroes Were Born

Where were you 12 years ago? 

What were you thinking when you saw the images? 

Were you in a state of disbelief? Of shock? Of fear? 

Did you, could you, imagine what it must have been like to be there, seeing the nightmare come to life?

Did you, could you, imagine how you would have felt if you would have been a family member to have gotten the life-changing call? 

How did you feel walking around that day, and the days that followed, after the unimaginable had happened?

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These are hard questions to answer. To be honest, they're hard for me to even write. 

But. I think it does a disservice to ourselves, to our country, and to those whose lives were sacrificed that day 12 years ago, to not remember the tragedy and the terror of that day. 

Today, though, rather than hide behind the tears that have already fallen in remembrance, rather than seek shelter from the emotions that come rushing back at the first sight of those images, rather than cower away from the terror that was that day, I will instead, resoundly proclaim,

I will never forget.  

And rather than focus on the shock, on the fear, on the sadness, on the disbelief, that colors that day, I will choose to focus on the heroes among us, who have fought for our safety domestically, that day and the days that followed, and have since protected us overseas. 

While I will always remember 9/11 for what it was, I will also remember it for what it became:

A day when heroes were born.

Thank you for your heroism. On this day, I honor you.