I can remember it just like it was yesterday...It was a beautiful day, much like today, but not a cloud in the sky. I remember...because, from about 8:35 A.M. on, if I wasn't glued to the television or sitting in front of wide eyed high schoolers helping them try to make sense of it all, I was looking at the sky.
I taught in the mobile classrooms at BHS, which required a short walk from the main building and which was oddly enough right under a flight pattern heading into O'Hare International Airport. The skies were clear that day...blue with no clouds...no planes. The lack of the usual roar of the engines was eerily creepy. Today, silence would be peaceful whereas the roar of airplane engines overhead can easily cause me anxiety.
Being not quite an adult myself at the age of 23, helping my students come to terms with what happened in NYC, Washington D.C., and Pennsylvania seemed to be be a bit beyond me per say. Nothing a college education and one year of teaching experience could easily prepare one for, but in hindsight, it was much more easy to face my students that day than it has been to have a discussion with my own two children about September 11th.
I'll be honest...They really don't know about what happened that day and, for now, I am alright with that.
At my PTO meeting Thursday, a mother asked another PTO member about the inclusion of 9-11 in the grade school curriculum. She wasn't concerned about her daughter learning too much about 9-11, but was concerned that the school wasn't doing enough to teach the children about the happenings of that day. As a former high school social studies teacher, my instinct was to pipe up, but I had no words to say. For once, I was speechless, because I haven't been able to formulate an opinion on what age it is most appropriate to discuss 9-11 with a child. Obviously as a teacher, I believe that 9-11 should be taught and remembered, but as a mother, my instinct is to protect.
And, for now, I feel that it is too soon for young minds to understand and the last thing I want to do as a mother is to create fear where there should be some innocence. I know that the conversation is coming soon...and, honestly, I thought about having it today with Alex. I thought that maybe he was old enough. In the end, I decided against it. Both Alex and Julia's day was filled with joy today...no sorrow...They played with friends, had a lemonade stand, counted praying mantises in the garden, petted a tobacco hormworm, built Legos with their uncle, and enjoyed a family walk. They enjoyed all the things in life that a few tried to steal from them ten years ago today...and for now...that is better than knowing.
Seeing what it is like to sleep on a submarine! Can you believe that they kept pets on board? Dogs, cats, and rats! :)
TUNNEL BEACH: HOLLAND, MI
Climbing the Dunes...The only pain about hitting the beach in Michigan. The first time is a riot and then...Well, your muscles in your legs catch fire! :)
This girl is too much...She is showing off her souvenirs (jewelry) from the zoo!
Julia just wasn't meant to be a berry picker...or a farmer for that matter!
BIG BOY: GRAND RAPIDS, MI
