09/11/2021
I remember 9/11/2001 like it was yesterday. I was 6 months pregnant with Maddie and was in Manchester teaching D.A.R.E. that morning at Klager Elementary. The principal came into the classroom and abruptly stopped my lesson, asking me to step into the hallway. Once in the hallway, he said “I think you need to call your work.” This was super weird and I had no idea why he would say something like this. I remember asking if everything was ok and him saying no. I went down to the media center and called my boss. Media center staff were quickly trying to get the news up on one of the televisions and it was then that reality was kicking in with what my Lieutenant had just told me…a plane has struck the World Trace Center. The fear of it being a terrorist was just starting to play out. I was instructed to leave the school and report directly to our administration for further direction. Hustling back to headquarters, I arrived in the Sheriff’s just as the 2nd plane hit. The room went silent as it became ominously apparent that the land we all love was under attack. I was assigned to help in Dispatch for the remainder of that long day. I had a chance to check in with Daniel who was at his grandparents house for daycare. I remember vividly hugging Daniel so tight that he try to wiggle away. Having come from a military family, I knew what these attacks meant for the men and women of our Armed Forces. My brother was still active duty so our family immediately went into stress mode for him. The next few days still seem so surreal, no air traffic except for the occasional military ones we might catch a glimpse of here in Southeast Michigan. Everyone I knew, sat glued to their televisions and radios for the following weeks, with the constant theme being that We Are United! In 2008, I had the immense privilege to travel to New York City and to personally see Ground Zero. The photos I’ve included are from that trip to Ground Zero and the temporary memorial and are a sober reminder of the evil that lives in our world. It’s hard to believe that it’s been 20 years, when the emotion of that day feels so fresh.
