9.11

I was in 8th grade. As an office worker for the first half of the year, I was sitting in the administrative office behind a tall reception counter waiting to be given more errands to run, when the school secretary came in and said that New York had been attacked. I don't remember her exact words, but it must have been "New York," because I had no idea what the World Trade Center was before that day.

I came home to find my mother watching the news in the living room. My dad was in Guatemala on a medical mission, and he would be delayed coming home for a week longer than planned. I don't think my 13-year-old brain understood the gravity of that day or saw the impact that it would have on the entire country. I may still not even understand it, and I certainly do not have the words to write it. How can anyone wrap their minds around such evil, such loss?

All we can do is pray for those still struggling in its aftermath, for the future of our country and for the troops defending our freedom.