I can’t believe it’s been ten years since that day.  It still feels like yesterday.

I was a senior in high school and I had just arrived at my second period class.  Our school had a tv station so we always watched our morning announcements on tv at the beginning of second period.  The tv was on our channel and a clip was showing of the first tower smoking.  My teacher wasn’t sure exactly what was going on, but we all soon figured it out.  Then we saw the second plane hit while we were watching and everyone was in shock.

For most of that day we just watched tv.  I remember going from class to class but we just did the same thing – watched the news coverage.

In the days and weeks following, I remember seeing American flags flying everywhere.  It was such an amazing feeling to know that, even though the actual event was horrific, the entire country unified and became stronger because of it.

Since that day in 2001 I have traveled to New York City twice.  Visiting the place where the twin towers once stood is always on my “must do” list.  While walking the nearby streets I can’t help but think of the thousands of people affected that day.  I look at the sidewalk and think about the dust that covered it, and all of the feet that ran down it that day.

My first visit was in the summer of 2002, so only about ten months after it happened.  I apologize for the quality of these photos, as I didn’t have a digital camera back then.  But I still want to share them.

St. Paul's Chapel - the surrounding fence full of posters and pictures

My second trip to New York City was just last October.

We went across the street to look through an opening but were quickly told to get back, I’m not sure why.  But since it was dark we weren’t really able to see anything anyway.

During today’s news coverage I saw the memorial’s pools for the first time and I think they are absolutely beautiful.  I can’t wait to see the entire memorial when it’s finished and hopefully take another trip to NYC to see it in person.

My thoughts today are with everyone who lost friends and/or loved ones on 9/11, and also all of the heros of that day and all the days since then.  It is because of you that this country is so strong and free.  Thank you.

Photo Credit

Nothing against my hubby, but I often find myself glaring at him while he sits next to me eating.  There’s a tightness that builds up in my chest and sometimes his chewing is the only thing I can hear, even over the tv.  The same way with his breathing sometimes.  We’ll be sitting on the couch or in a movie theatre and if I hear him breathing you can bet I’ll be distracted by it for quite some time.  You’d think he was breathing right into my ear, nope…just sitting next to me.  But the sound takes over in my head!

This is no surprise to Jake.  He knows that these sounds drive me crazy.  He probably thinks I AM crazy.  So, when I ran across an article about Misophonia, I was instantly relieved to learn that I’m not alone!

People who have misophonia are most commonly annoyed, or even enraged, by the sound of other people eating, breathing, coughing, or other ordinary sounds. They are not normally annoyed by sounds that they themselves make. Reactions to these sounds are not limited, however, to just loud eating noises; people with misophonia find themselves affected by all kinds of noises. Such reactions are also involuntary.

Sensitivity to these sounds tends to be exacerbated by stress or feeling tired/run-down.

- Wikipedia

Now, I’ve never been enraged by these sounds, but they definitely give me anxiety.  There’s no cure for this, although some people deal with it by removing themselves from the situation or using earplugs.  I usually just sit patiently until he finishes his food and then give a huge sigh of relief that I can relax again.

What about you?  Do you suffer from Misophonia?

“Everything happens for a reason.”

This has always been one of my favorite quotes and I absolutely believe it’s true.  I’ve been thinking about it a lot lately so I thought I’d share some of my thoughts.

No doubt – people and things change us.  The situations that we go through shape us into who we are.  Sometimes I think back to past events in my life, whether it be something from last month, last year or ten years ago, and think about how things would be different today if I hadn’t gone through that, or met that person.  It seems like everything had to happen just right for me to be where I am today.

I believe that people come into our lives at certain times for certain reasons.  Maybe it’s to lead us to the next great thing, maybe it’s to save us from something, maybe it’s to teach us a lesson.

It can be scary to think about all of this sometimes.  However, the above quote is reassuring.

I do know one thing.  If I hadn’t gone through the specific things that I have I would not have met Jake, we wouldn’t have gotten married, and Carter wouldn’t be here.  So I’m thankful.

So, how’s that for some deep thinking on a Monday?!?

Image: nixxphotography / FreeDigitalPhotos.net