September 11, 2001 was our second date. I was working at the Department of Labor and had to evacuate, walk several miles, wait it out, and finally take the Metro home when it opened back up. I then had to walk about 1.5 or 2 miles home from the Metro - I lived close to the Pentagon and the streets were closed: no buses, no taxis, nothing. It was creepy.
It took me hours to get a hold of anyone, including my now husband, with whom I had gone on exactly one date. Just one date, but I wanted to call him and make sure he was okay. He was late getting it together to get to work that day and never actually made it after a friend called him to tell him to turn on the TV.
The Pentagon is near Wash-Reagan airport, and you may remember they shut down the airport for a while after 9/11. After months of hearing the planes, it was so quiet...
I often wonder if we developed a different kind of bond because we met and learned about one another during such a serious time in our Nation's history. We just had our fifth anniversary (we married on the same date as our first date, two years later), and things only seem to be getting better for us (I hope that is true for both of us).
I guess we will never know for sure, but 9/11 holds two very different feelings for me - one of loss and tragedy but also one of hope and love.
1 comment:
Lexann,
This is a really touching perspective! I think if we all did what we could to take the best and most hopeful out of even the most unimaginable situations, we would be a better world.
Aimee
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