This year marks the 10th year anniversary of September 11th. In some ways it feels like it has been forever ago and on the other hand it feels like it was yesterday. I still remember the day so vividly. It was a Tuesday and our first full Tuesday of the school year. I was teaching 6th grade that year and had an upper floor. I loved the school because from my side of the building you had a clear view of the NYC skyline. I would glance out all the time and just admire it. 
We often referred to the Twin Towers in the classroom and I would  tell the students about how I went to the top of the Tower 1 as a young child while it was still under construction. My uncle worked for Port Authority and would take me up on the long elevator ride to the very top where I would be terrified because there were no windows. He would make me stay right next to him and the elevator, even though there were construction workers all over the place. There was a breeze up that high that could have just knocked you over. 


As I grew into an adult I would take the Path into the World Trade Centers all the time. It was my link to South Street Seaport, and my boyfriend(now my hubby) and I would go there as often as we could. There were so many happy memories I had attached to the Twin Towers. I think that is what made Tuesday, September 11, 2001 unimaginable to me, like so many others.


That crisp clear morning hubby dropped me off at school. It was a beautiful day and I had everything planned out for the day. Our 2 year old son was home with my parents, our 4th grade son was in school and I was set to have a wonderful day. The school day started at 8:20am. I picked up my class down in the schoolyard and we went up to the room to unpack and get ready for the day ahead. First period was my prep period and their Art period. I dropped them off at Art Class and returned to my class to prepare the lesson. It was not long before one of the other teachers ran into my room screaming out the news that one of the towers had been hit with a plane. Did I hear her right? It seemed impossible. How could I be sitting right there and not even notice?


Sure enough, I could see the black smoke coming out of the Tower. I was sick to my stomach as I watched. I remember starting to pray. I turned on my Classroom TV to hear the news. It was on EVERY channel. Soon after, Tower 2 was hit. I was terrified. Then the most horrible thing I ever witnessed in my life happened. The Tower fell, collapsed. I thought I was going to be sick. The whole time I was non stop dialing on my cell phone. My husband was only blocks away, but I could not get in touch with him. I could not get in touch with my parents. I wanted to leave, but everyone was on a basic lockdown. 
By now everyone knew. My class was back in the room, some with family that worked at the Twin Towers. Horrible. I had to be the rock and console everyone, meanwhile I was falling apart inside. The fear, being 6 miles from NYC, that something else would happen and I may never see my family ate away at me. I finally got through to my parents, who were going to pick up my own son from school. By 1pm I was home. The school had closed sessions and only been open to people who wanted shelter.
We spent the rest of the day at home glued to the TV and crying, worrying and planning. Days went by as we found more and more people we knew who were missing, most never found.


 So, even though it’s ten years later, sometimes it really does not feel like it. The days, weeeks, and months ahead were filled with sorrow, as students and family and friends lost hope. Memorials and lost hope filled the next year.  My heart still breaks for some students who kissed their parents goodbye that morning and never saw them again. 


Now, ten years later. We sit under a terror threat and wonder. My son goes to college in Manhattan. It’s a bit unnerving.
As this anniversary approaches, I think about all of the lives lost and the families that remain. I still don’t understand it, and never will.
 I live in their honor and hope for the best. But, I will never forget what I saw that day…through my classroom window…