Remembering 9/11 "We're All Brothers"

As I am making my cookies and brownies to take to the local fire station I also pause to reflect on that day

nine years ago.  The day I will never forget.  I changed that day. In so many ways. 

I remember my husband calling me and calmly telling me to turn on the tv.  Otherwise, I would have been totally clueless...perfectly happy to go on blissfully ignorant of some dude named Osama and some crazy lunatics who hated MY country enough to do this thing.  I was watching when the second tower was hit,  when the pentagon was hit and when some brave Americans thwarted another terrorist attempt. 

I called my parents and told them to turn on CNN.  When there was "talk" about an explosion at the Pentagon but wasn't confirmed as an attack yet, I called them again.  I remember hearing The Price Is Right blaring in the background.  "We're under attack, and you're watching Bob Barker?!?"  I scolded.

I, with millions of others remained glued to the television.  Who were these people?  

I remember my husband telling me years before that because we are a free society, we could easily be a target of a terrorist attack.  I'd just nod in agreement.  But I never, ever believed that would happen on American soil.  Never! 

But it did.  In that instant I lost my innocence. 

I wanted to hate all Muslims.  I did. I'm not proud of that, because I'm a Christian.   I just said "God, won't you just release me to hate these horrible people?".   And ya know what?  God speaks to us in many ways and I believe to this day, he used an interview to speak to me.   They were interviewing a young man, probably college age, who was of the Muslim faith and what he said impacted me forever.  

He said he was lying on the ground and spent, people were running past, another young man stopped, held out his hand to help him. Of all people, he thought this other man was the last to help a Muslim.  What was so astounding, was that this other young man was of the Jewish faith.  He reached out his hand and said "take my hand brother, we're getting out of here" I couldn't hate after two people who history tells me have hated each other for years upon years reached out to each other.   I remember the words "today we're all brothers" said that day.  How could I hate then?

So, I remember September 11, 2001 and in my own way say "thank you" to all the local heroes in an attempt to honor those first responders who lost their lives by taking cookies to the local firestation.  I'll never forget that day.  And I'll never forget the lesson I learned.  We are all brothers.