September 11

In 2001, there was talk of tearing down Fenway Park (where the Red Sox play), and building a "bigger, better" park.  Since then, they have realized there will never be a better park than Fenway, so they've decided to keep it, but at the time, my family wanted to go see one last game there. 

We purchased tickets at the beginning of the season for my parents, my sister and I to go see the Red Sox play the Tigers (funny, now that I'm married to a Tigers fan) on September 21, 2001. 

The plan, as always when we went to Boston, was to first drive to New York to visit my great-grandma and great-aunts that we visited last week, and then head to Manchester, NH to visit my dad's older sister, and then on to Boston for the game. 

When our country suffered the attacks on September 11 of that year, we contemplated not going to the game.  There was talk of follow-up attacks, traffic jams, and just a general unease in our country.  We decided, though, that if we didn't go, we would be giving in to the fear that they wanted us to have. 

So, we drove, up 95 through Washington DC, where we saw the Pentagon draped with the biggest American flag we had ever seen.  We drove into New Jersey, where we stood on the Hudson River and watched smoke still rising up from the remains at Ground Zero.  We drove to Boston, where we stood up during the seventh inning stretch and sang "New York, New York" (unheard of any other time for Red Sox fans).  We cried and prayed and mourned for those lost in the attacks, and those left behind. 

Since then, I've been back to D.C. and New York City several times, but never this close to the anniversary.  Last Saturday, we drove past the Pentagon, and pride welled up in me as I saw it, rebuilt, again a fortress.  On Tuesday, we drove right past Ground Zero, and I got chills as I thought about that horrible day nine years ago. 

I was reminded of how happy I am to be raising my children in this country.  Where we are free to be who we want to be.  I know the USA is not perfect, and that we are still facing struggles, many that came from that day, but this is the country in which I was raised, and in which I am proud to be raising my children. 

I will continue to pray for those who lost loved ones and security on September 11, 2001, and for this country.