Remembering the Day

Had a lovely day in the beautiful weather today. Spent time with my mom, sis and niece. Turns out I did something similar last year.

From Facebook, "On the Day in 2010 .. Took a little walk around the block with three little pumpkins and their brand new babies. It was a fun adventure. :) The new babies are all girls and have been named Katelyn, Katie and Patrick. Trust me. "Patrick" is a much better choice than the little mommy's first name choice for her baby doll .. "Heatstroke." :)"

The mommies in question were my niece and two of her friends with their brand new baby dolls I had just bought them at the dollar store down the street. I met a neighbor of mine for the first time that day, too, while on the walk. The "mommies" surrounded him and his baby carriage, cooing at his baby and showing off theirs before taking off again down the street. This year there was only my niece over, and there was a more subdued feel to the day.

This morning my sis and niece watched some of the 9/11 ceremony on tv. At my house we talked about what we remembered of that day, how we found out about the planesand what we were thinking. We talked a bit about the sad things and more about the good things that came about .. people helping people, everyday heroes, survival stories, .. We wondered aloud if the teachers would discuss the day in class tomorrow, and my niece announced that when she got to school tomorrow, she would ask her teacher if they could write letters to the hero firemen in NYC thanking them for helping people. We told her we thought it was a good idea, and my sis mentioned that maybe, if her teacher liked the idea, that the class could also write to their local firemen and policemen thanking them for all they do for us every day. Then we explained a lot of people came from all over to help; maybe some of her local firemen did, too.

I wasn't online much back in 2001, except on the old SciFi (now SyFy) boards (the "Dom"), so I have no online reference anymore for that day. The old posts from the Dom are long gone now. I do have my memories, however, and it's strange how much I can remember about that whole weekend in addition to that day. and the days that follow. There are other events that are eternally tied together with that day in my mind now. My great aunt died that weekend, and now I'll always remember the date. I was just entering the online Farscape fandom and had been at creation's NY convention (the second convention I'd ever attended; the first was an XF con in Mass.); Ben and Claudia had been there, and I'd met a few Scapers, too. Tuesday morning before I left for work, I checked the Dom and read posts about the con. I even posted one myself saying I had a good time and thanking the people I'd met while I was there. Just a few posts later, the topics changed from the excited post-convention euphoria to the confusing, unfolding events of the day. I didn't read them until I'd gotten home from work later, but there were posts from all over the world, people gathering together offering support. There was one post asking the con goers to sign in; some NY Scapers offered up their homes to those who were stranded in the city. And so Farscape, Scapers and the online communities are all forever entwined with my memories of September 11, 2001.

I've been checking through my blog and LJ posts each year on this date and found only one which contemplated the events of September 11. More of a recollection than reflection: 9/11/2009

I find myself amazed that it's been ten years already, that so much time has passed. The uncertainty of the weeks that followed 9/11 has thankfully passed; at the time one could feel the uneasiness in the air, so strange. I hope that sense of togetherness, the spirit of working together, remains. Yes, there was shock, fear, anger on that day and the days that followed, but there was also something else, this wonderful feeling of unity and selflessness. I'd like to think some of that is still here, when the going gets tough, our citizens will do the right thing, lending a hand to those most in need. Never forget the lives lost and the families who remained, the survivors, the heroes, the sacrifices made, but also never forget that other feeling that surrounded us. The kindness and concern we extended to each other after; that's also what I'm also remembering today.

** cross-posted from LJ