On that first trip, we were in awe of the view from the observation deck of the Towers as we were able to seeing the beautiful and ever-changing landscape of this vast city. We proudly took pictures of each other on the outside deck as we were virtually alone up there, it was our little secret haven in the sky. And then onward to the Statue of Liberty for a hearty climb up to the crown of old Liberty.
This summer, many years later, we spent time in New York City with our two children. Our first stop was to see Lady Liberty herself. She seemed so majestic is all her glory on that beautiful, sunny day. As we headed back to Manhattan, we were trying to decide what was next on our one day tour of the Big Apple.
We knew the 9/11 memorial was close by but both my husband and I felt a bit hesitant to go there. We wanted to keep our memories of that day the same, especially after what happened when those two planes flew into the Towers and forever changed history. I know it was naive of us to think that "our" history should stay the same and that we could somehow block what happened. But we both knew that we had a story to tell our children. A story about how beautiful those Twin Towers were to us that day and how that memory will always have a special place in our heart.
We remained mostly silent as we wandered around the two fountains where each of the two Towers once stood. Each one of us lost in our own thoughts, listening to the soothing sounds from the water cascading slowly down to the bottom and back up again, almost like the cycle life; from death a new life begins.
And so as we walked around the memorial, our fingers slowly traced the names of those who died that day as if to better to remember them.
For us, this anniversary has a new and very special meaning. One that will include special prayers for those men and women who lost their lives and a special thanks to those very brave people who tried to help them. Rest in peace.
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