I was kind of sad on Wednesday, not bring anywhere near NYC on the anniversary of 9-11.
I feel like September 11th is kind of our thing - and when I say "our", I mean my peer group and when I say "thing", I mean the big something that happened that defined who we became.
September 11th was the big historical event that we lived through. I have listened to stories of those who survived terror attacks abroad or even the first time the World Trade Center was attacked and found it difficult to understand their pain. They always had my profound sympathy but not always my total understanding because, really, how could I understand?
But this was different. This was September 11th. And I will never experience September 11th as anything other than a terrifying morning at work in downtown Manhattan. My kids, on the other hand, will learn about it in school and think, hmm, that was terrible and then move on. They will not be nauseous in the days leading up to 9-11. They will not be incredulous when they turn the morning news on in a state that is not NY and realize that the leading story is not 9-11.
***
My office, twelve years ago, was far enough away from the World Trade Center that immediate evacuation was not necessary but close enough to see the ambulances racing down Broadway and to be a part of the section of the city that was off limits to civilians for weeks afterwards.
So why am I sharing this?
Because the other afternoon, a friend forwarded me a link to an article I had written immediately after 9-11, and which I had totally forgotten about.
(Re)reading it brought back so many memories, it was hard to shake the feeling all day, kind of like a dark rain cloud following me around.
In the spirit of sharing, here it is: Nothing Will Ever Be the Same.
Last night I was thinking back to that Rosh Hashana and Yom Kippur in 2001 and I remember the intensity, the need to be present and in the moment with the communal davening and at the same time just wanting to crawl into a hole.
And then I thought about how far we've come since then, both as a group but also individually. Life truly does go on.
May we all be be sealed l'tovah for the coming year, and always.
Shana Tovah :)
Jen
Next Up: A Succah in Florida. Could we be any hotter?