Remembering

I wonder sometimes if the tragedy of Sept. 11, 2001, will always be so fresh in my mind. It's 11 years now and I can still remember it like it was yesterday. It was so shocking and surreal, I know I'll never forget it -- not entirely, anyway.

I remember once in high school I had to interview my mom about certain events in her past. Twenty years after the tragedy, she could still recall in vivid detail where she was and what she was doing when she heard JFK was shot. She was doing laundry at home and heard it on the radio first.

Of course, I can still recall Jan. 28, 1986, when the space shuttle Challenger blew up. I also remember the day when John Hinckley Jr. attempted to assassinate President Reagan and did manage to shoot press secretary James Brady. In both cases, our regular school day was interrupted and we could spend our study hall in the library watching news coverage.

I guess it's pretty unlikely those of us old enough to remember 9/11 will forget it. Carter was only 3 so he won't empathize with the emotion of the day, but he has learned many times in school about the historical significance of the tragedy.

Today, social media sites were abuzz with various photos and meaningful images related to Sept. 11 and our need to remember to stay strong as a country. Since I take care of my nephew's racing fan page, I created this image for his site...

(Yep, me and PhotoShop -- we're a team some days!)

On a positive note, I know a few couples celebrating wedding anniversaries today. And, most importantly, Jim's godfather Uncle Frank has a birthday. As luck would have it (or as cross country schedule would have it), we got to stop in and see him, too.

Carter's meet today was over at Tiger Stadium -- not Detroit, but Stratford. Jim and I thought we left work in time but we got there just as the starting gun went off. So we did get to see pretty much all of Carter's race and I did get some pictures.

It was hot again -- about 85 degrees -- and super windy so it was a slow run for the boy (and many others). His time was his worst of the 5 meets so far so I won't share that. I think he still feels ready to puke!

After we saw the girls run and middle school, we headed to see Uncle Frank and Aunt Colleen in nearby Marshfield for a quick visit. Always great to see them -- and especially great when Colleen sends home some of her canned goods. We'll have some yummy "refrigerator pickles" with our next meal and Jim can enjoy peach jam on his toast. Yes, we are that spoiled.

We got back to Rapids the same time Carter and the bus did. Got home at 8 and are jamming in homework, blogging and some of those "ducks" we're still getting in a row. I better log off before they head down stream.