I Remember...

Once again, I am lagging on my thankful Thursday post. Between not feeling too snitzy, the meniere's kickin my ass & remembering the devastating attack on our country that occurred 7yrs ago I wasn't much in the mood to be my giddy, dorky self. It's not too often I let myself allow people to see beyond the wall I hide behind. Just as the toughest buildings crumble...so have I.

I remember growing up absolutely hating history class. In order for me to even pass those classes I had to read, re-read & read the chapters over & over again. My brain just wouldn't "absorb" the info. Actually it didn't interest me. I'd read of the battles of our forefathers, the discoveries & travels...yeah, it never really phased me...Until I lived it & experienced some of the Nations & my own history. These historical event's whether they be Natiowide or things from my past have helped mold me into the person I've become.

I remember Mike waking me the morning of November 12, 1985 shouting what I thought was "I'm dying" He always joked about things. Like the finger falling off joke. Once I deciphered what he was shouting I couldn't believe it. He was saying "Mom's dying" I went downstairs in my nightgown to see the living room filled with sadness, the phone rang, it was dad...Mom died...It's a day in my life history that changed me forever. I was an evil snotty kid, spoiled rotten. Fighting with my Mom for new toys was an everyday event. The night before she passed I was mad at her because I wanted another Cabbage Patch Kid & told her I hated her & wished she would die....talk about a life lesson right there. It took years to forgive myself for being so hateful & I vowed to myself & the world around me I would NEVER be so selfish & say horrible things. It was a day in my history that forever changed me into what I hope is a much more giving, kind person.

I remember getting up Christmas morning of 85 to see what Santa had brought. Under the tree was a gift to me from my Mom. I thought it was a cruel for my siblings to wrap a gift & pretend it was from my dead Mom. But it was from my Mom. It was her writing as far as I know & in it was a necklace with a heard pendant watch. Mom was still with me, she gave me a heart even as hers was dancing in heaven. Weeks later that pendant was stolen by someone who I thought was a friend. I don't think she had a clue just how much that heart meant to me. What I wouldn't do to get it back...

I remember Dad, lying in the hospital bed, eyes too weak to close, the lemon swabs, the smell. I remember being home alone with Dad on New Years having a sleep over party with my umteen amount of Cabbage Patch Kids along with my sister's & our friends. I played with my new dollhouse my brother made me. Dad was sick, really sick. It was the worst New Years & I remember. I remember the day the family gathered around dad's bed to pray. I'm pretty sure my brother Darryl said the last rights. Darryl is a priest by the way so he can say those things. I remember the peace & sadness on January 15, 1986 when Dad died. He was finally in a better place & not suffering.

I remember January 28, 1986 like it was yesterday. I was in 4th grade, Ms. Peter the teacher. Two moths prior my Mom died, and just 13 days prior my Dad died. On this day a teacher was going up with the shuttle. Back then it was a big deal when shuttles went up & it's as if the nation stopped to watch a launch. I remember counting down to the launch, watching it go up, up, up & then explode....I was 10yrs old & I remember...

On the morning of August 31st, 1997 as I sat in the emergency room waiting area I watched on the small tv hanging from the wall the announcement that Princess Diana was killed in a horrible accident. I was in the ER losing our 2nd baby, waiting to go into surgery...a date in the Nations history & my own that I will never forget. To this day it sickens me watching the Princess Di tributes.

I remember our President's fiasco's in the White House, and when they cloned "Dolly" the sheep, and the end of the Cold War. And when Lorenna Bobbit took matters into her own hands & the infamous OJ Simpson chase & double murder case, the Y 2K hooplah...so much history...so much I remember

I remember laying in bed on the morning of September 11, 2001. the sound of Ken tromping up the stairs, the bedroom door flying open, Ken shouting, "a plane just hit the Twin Towers!" At the time I was half asleep & didn't fully understand what the Twin Towers were. I got out of bed, adjusted my Green Bay Packer night shirt & went downstairs to the kitchen to see what the commotion was. Indeed a plane hit tower 1 of the Trade Center. We watched it unfold. As we watched we saw a 2nd plane approaching tower 2. I started to scream as the plane got closer & saw it smash! I immediately told ken we are under some sort of attack. He thought I was being foolish. Ken's parents came to pick him up (they were working out of town) . We told them to come in the house real quick. Ken eventually left with his parents to go to work. I tossed on some purple underwear & pink sweatpants & walked across the alley to my siblings house to watch. I didn't want to be home alone during a time such as this. While there we watched the news, saw the Pentagon being attacked & the other plane going down in the field. Days after we watched as the recovery & cleanup went on. I don't remember how long it was but it was awhile that all flights in the US were halted & forced to land. I watched our nation pull together as a loving, praying community. It's as if we were all in this together. It made everyone more aware just how fragile life is. It's a day I will never forget...EVER!!!!