Today is September 11, my daughter's birthday. I was reminded when I woke up this morning and turned on the news, that never again will this day be totally about her birthday..or "all about her" as we like to say. And it made me sad.
I am sad for her because her much anticipated 16th birthday was supposed to be the most special day ever 7 years ago....I am sad for mankind that September 11 is a day, like Pearl Harbor Day, that will live in our hearts and minds forever, but not for a happy reason.
On the 16th anniversary of my youngest daughter's birth, there was no party. Instead, there was fear, insecurity, tears and frustration.
In the years since, the celebrations have never quite lived up to anyone's expectations. It is, after all, the anniversary of the bombing of the World Trade Center..which we have vowed never to forget.
Maybe, like Pearl Harbor Day, in 50 years, the pain of September 11 will be appeased, but the day will never lose its significance.
Today I woke up and felt for my daughter, who was just a little bit crankier than usual last night, in anticipation of her birthday. She is like any other young person, wanting to have her special day, her day in the sun, and all around her, throughout the day, are somber reminders of tragedy, and heroics, of terror, and of loss.
So I will spend time with her and we will all try to make her day as special as we can, knowing that we cannot ever erase what has happened, nor can we pretend that life as we knew it will ever be the same.
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