Ten Years Later

Today is September 11, 2011, which marks the ten year anniversary of the terrorist attacks in the United States.  It's hard to believe a decade has passed, and while so many things have changed, many others are still the same.  I remember exactly what I was doing that day, and that memory will probably be seared in my brain for the rest of my life.  Even though I was only in 8th grade and didn't fully understand the implications or the extent of the damage, over the years I have been able to learn and even see first hand the destruction and terror that disrupted our lives back in 2001.  While the nation has had a decade to recover, some wounds never heal.  We will always be thankful for those who risked their lives and ran into the smoke and devastation while everyone else was getting out of there as fast as humanly possible.  I feel extremely lucky that no one near me was harmed that day, but to all of those who lost their lives and to all the others who have had to live without their loved ones, today, a decade later, our nation remembers that time and prays that nothing like that will ever happen again.

Today I went to a remembrance service in downtown Melbourne.  It was the only one close by, and I felt compelled to have a few moments to reflect back on that day.  I entered St. Paul's Cathedral, and with many others we went through moments of silence interspersed with prayers led by people of all denominations.  The ten Australian citizens killed that morning were named and their families recognized.  It was a nice gathering, with a candle service in commemoration and flowers laid out to honor the fallen soldiers.  I'm really glad I chose to attend, and I hope tomorrow (September 11 back home) that everyone stays safe.  Let us never forget the heroes that were made on that fateful day.