Today is the anniversary of 9/11.

I remember my then husband running into our bedroom-I had the day off of work, but was scheduled for classes in Seattle. I was groggy, wondering why he was yelling about planes. He said, “A plane. A plane just hit the World Trade Center”.

I remember wondering why a plane would hit the tiny banking building a few miles from us, also called the World Trade Center.

I remember that I had never heard him sound that panicked as he explained that a plane, full of people, had flowing into the World Trade Center, also full of people. I was fully awake, but still couldn’t comprehend. I didn’t get why someone would do that. It must have been a mistake, something wrong with the plane. That couldn’t happen on purpose.

We watched, eyes glued to the screen as smoke billowed up. Then, the second plane hit.

We wept.

We watched as people ran, people fell, people…We watched as the buildings came down. Just a matter of minutes, but it felt like hours.

The world was quiet for days, if not weeks, after that. People were gentle, kind, a little more patient.

I fear that as we get farther away from that horrible event, we’ll forget. We’ll forget what it meant to come together as a nation, as a people.I fear that it could happen again.

Here’s to never forgetting, and remembering that connection to each other.

Raina