9-11

Doodle has pink eye, and we were both awake for much of the night, dealing with her discomfort. This morning in the rush to make a doctor's appointment for Doodle and get Tootle ready for school, I didn't have time to reflect on the 9-11 anniversary. I was reminded when I went to drop something off at Doodle's school and read the whiteboard that is used to post announcements and daily inspirational quotes. The board read: "In remembrance of 9-11-01." It made me wonder how much the kids in Doodle's school, which goes through 6th grade, remember about 9-11. Doodle was 3 at the time. She didn't have much interest in television and I also tried to shield her from the news, so she doesn't have much recollection of the horrific images of that day. Tootle wasn't even born yet. If I mentioned 9-11 to her, she would say, "You forgot 10, silly."

I first learned about the terrorist attacks in Doodle's preschool classroom where we were attending an open house on the day before the start of school. It was surreal and somewhat incomprehensible to hear such terrible news while surrounded by joyful children at play. I was still in shock as we drove home: trying to remain cheerful for Doodle's sake, chatting about her bright classroom, her teacher, and her classmates. I'll never forget how blue the sky was that day or what a huge relief it was to be home with my family rather than in my downtown office. The office closed early that day, and the office and the preschool were both closed the next day. I worried about friends who worked at the Pentagon and their children who were in day care there. I have seldom been in the office on 9-11 in the past six years: I've worked from home for various reasons such as the first day of preschool or today's unexpected doctor's appointment to cure Doodle's oozing eye. If and when the next attack occurs, I hope that I am once again surrounded by my loved ones, and I worry a bit that we will be scattered at work and at school. But we go on with our daily lives because to alter our plans would mean that the terrorists have won.