It's a day I will never forget. I have never written this down before but I figured my little blog can hold this memory for me. It was a gorgeous sunny morning. I was about 8 weeks pregnant (but no one knew except me and my husband) and still coping with the loss of my dad at age 47 had succombed to lung cancer and passed away only a month before. I contemplated if I should go to work because my 3 year old son wasn't feeling well. I decided to go in since my in-laws were here from Florida and they were able to watch him. I thought I would just go in for a half day and come home. I was just about to go over the Outerbridge Crossing on my way to work in New Jersey when the first plane struck the Towers. I was stunned. I tried calling my husband from my cell phone because I knew at that moment I probably wouldn't see him for a few days. He is a New York City Police Officer. He had worked the midnight shift and then had to appear at traffic court that morning for a case he had. As soon as I got to work the 2nd plane had hit. As I walked to my office everyone was glued to their radios and talking about what had just happened. I sat at my desk in disbelief. I stayed for about half hour and then stood up and announced I have to go. I rushed out of the building and started my way home back to Staten Island, NY. When I got to the bridge...it was closed. My heart sank. How was I going to get home? What do I do? I haven't heard from my husband and my kid was home sick. Thankfully my mom had lived in Laurence Harbor, NJ at the time. Her house was on the water that overlooked the NYC skyline. We sat there for hours just looking at the windows as the towers burned.
When my husband got home that morning from court around 10am he got called in right back to work. He worked for 3 straight days. He was stationed on the Verrazano bridge. I finally was able to get back home the next day. Day and night my eyes were glued to the news. From September 11th until sometime in November my husband worked 16-18 hour shifts 7 days a week. No days off or vacations were allowed. I would wake up during the night just to talk to him for a few minutes and go over the days events with our son who had just started pre school, my pregnancy, and his days at work.
As we remember today on the 10th anniversary of the 9/11 attacks, I just want to say to all the families and friends that lost a loved one....my heart goes out to you and may God hold you in the palm of his hand to comfort you always. To my husband....I love you so much and am so very proud of how you serve and protect our city. May you and all your co workers be safe today and everyday.
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