Remembering 9/11

Getty ImagesWe've had a string of stunning blue-sky, perfect September days here in the New York area, and today is no exception. It is the kind of day that makes seven years disappear in an instant, and a morning that looks so happy is suddenly achingly sad. We remember, all too clearly, that fateful, terrible blue-sky morning. As we should.

I live in a town where 17 dads and moms who rode the train to work in the morning didn't return home. Many others lost family members. They all have rebuilt their lives with grace and the support of family and friends, but it's so important to stop and remember what they have gone through to get to today. Just as we need to remember the people they loved who died on the morning of September 11, 2001.

My kids were little seven years ago, and somehow their amazing teachers shielded them from the horror all day. My first-grade son at the time had no idea his cherished first-grade teacher was worried sick about her husband. (He was okay). I remember telling them what happened when we were all together at the dinner table that night, and how my 6-year-old son looked me in the eye and said, "You told us there were no bad people around here."

Tonight, we will talk about it again, and we will remember. We are all older now, but none-the-less sad.

Speak up, and share your thoughts on this 9/11 day of remembrance.

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Jessica Ashley on Healthy Living offers a thoughtful look back and a spirit-lifting invitation to meditate on all we are grateful for to mark 9/11, seven years later.