Thursday, September 13, 2001
1:00 p.m.
The world changed this week. It changed at 8:45 a.m. Eastern time (6:45 a.m. here in Saskatchewan) on Tuesday September 11, to be exact. 9-11-2001. This is when the first of four hijacked commercial airplanes struck one of the towers of the World Trade Center in New York City. So many lives extinguished in that moment; so many more to follow. But the history books will tell you what happened that dreadful day. The history books will also relay many things we do not even know yet. Like how many innocent people lost their lives in that horrible act of terror, and how the United States and the world responded.
Our little world, here at home in Regina, has not changed much physically. I continue to do the usual chores--laundry, grocery shopping, etc., and taking care of Sophia, of course. And Neil continues with harvest. Today, he has gone to Saskatoon to buy sheet metal for some grain bins. Our daughter Sophia, the joy of my life, is seven and a half months old this week. She started crawling last weekend and continues to improve; today, she went beyond the boundaries of the living room for the first time on her own steam. And yesterday, she started to say “da-da-da-da-da.” Her world is expanding before my eyes. It is a privilege to watch her learn and change every day. I am glad that she is unaware of what is going on in the world right now.
Being with Sophia is the best kind of distraction from the week’s events. But I find it impossible to ignore. One cannot help but to think of the thousands who have lost a loved one, or to fear the repercussions. I think, like so many people, we are changed in our hearts and minds. Although I hold and hug her often, I needed to hold Sophia a little more and a little tighter on Tuesday. And though her Dad usually stays overnight at the farm during harvest, he came home to see us that night. He also needed to hold Sophia that day.
It is amazing how quickly we receive the news on television. Donna and Lou were even watching as the second airplane struck the World Trade Center. Sophia and I got up shortly after 7:00 a.m., but I wasn’t aware of the tragedy until 7:30 when Canada AM started reporting it. The TV supplies a constant stream of horrifying images. During the past two days, I have seen the second plane strike and the buildings collapse dozens of times, from all angles, and yet I still feel compelled to watch. I ask myself, “why do you need to see that again?’’ and then continue to watch, completely ignoring my own query. It’s human nature, I guess. Perhaps I still can’t quite believe it.
5:15 p.m.
Half an hour ago, I was nursing Sophia and watching live interviews of people looking for missing family members. They were holding up photos of their spouses, brothers, sisters, children, cousins, nieces and nephews, who are missing. One woman has two children, a son and daughter, who both worked in the World Trade Center and are now missing. Another man held a photo of his brother, who has a seven-month-old daughter at home. I started to cry then and continued to cry through changing Sophia’s diaper and laying her down for a nap. I cannot imagine the grief that these people are experiencing. President Bush vows to punish those responsible, and I hope he succeeds.
