9/11 -- a date I will never forget. My flag flies in the honor of the victims of this devastating day in American history.

God Bless America!

I miss you...

On February 18, 2009, my wonderful grandma died. She was 85 years old and the mother of seven children, the grandmother to thirteen, and great grandmother to five.
Before his death in 1995, my grandma and grandpa celebrated 51 years of marriage. He retired as a captain in the Coast Guard and my grandma was the force that held her family together through many moves and duty station changes.
I love you, Grandma and Grandpa, and I miss both of you so very very much. I am glad you are together again now, but I miss you so very very much. Grandma, I can't even bear to imagine celebrating our birthday without you--we have been birthday twins my entire life. Leaving you at the cemetery was one of the hardest things I've ever done in my life. I love you and always will love you.

September 11th

In 2001 I was working as an assistant director of admission at a college in Connecticut and my husband worked across the river as an engineer designing hull sections for nuclear submarines. On the morning of September 11th 2001 I was in a meeting with a colleague and two of our athletic coaches--we were discussing recruitment plans for our athletic department. Our meeting was interrupted by a call from my colleague's wife. A plane had just crashed into the World Trade Center and her sister was in midair, enroute from Boston to California. Needless to say, our meeting was over.

We worked the rest of the day in shock, glued to our computer screens to keep up-to-date with the news of what was going on just 1.5 hours down the road in New York City as well as in DC. Fortunately my colleague's sister-in-law was safe, but so many others were not. The submarines at the base were sent out, one after another, to open sea--except for one that was left to guard the entrance of the river. Huge barricades were erected around my husband's work site--one of just a handful of places in the country where submarines are designed and built.

I went home that night to my husband, horrified at the evil that had permeated our society. We had been talking about having a baby and the idea of bringing a baby into this world now seemed to be a selfish and terrifying thought.

September 11th is more than just another day...it is a date that brings me to my knees in gratitude for the lives of my loved ones and in prayer for those who no longer are with us and with thanks to those who spend every day working to keep there from being another September 11th.