Remembering

Ten years ago today, I was a senior in high school.  It was homecoming week, but the seniors weren’t dressing up that day because we were going to our local college The University of North Alabama for College Day.  I woke up late as I OFTEN did living less than a min from school.  I threw on some jeans and a pink shirt, put my hair in a bun… realized it was College Day, put my “danceline” hair around my bun {that’s another post in itself}, and slapped some make up on during the 30 sec car drive to school. My classmates and I got on the bus to go to UNA right at 8:00. We made it to the college and our counselor told us on the bus that a plane had it the first tower.  We were all thinking a little crop duster.  We went in and looked around at the potential Greek organizations we could be apart of, thought about whether or not to live on campus and discussed how cool the college kids were.  We were still excited about the upcoming game on Friday.  Meanwhile, the second plane had hit and we heard the news from one of our teachers.  We all took a picture on the step at UNA, still not know the magnitude of the attack.  We then went to McDonalds for breakfast and the TVs were on.  We were all very scared and our teachers were trying to get us in and out quickly so we could get back to school.  Once we returned to school we gathered in the AV room with our teachers and we watched the footage.  We cried and prayed together as friends, classmates, and somehow more grown up 17 and 18 year olds. Our principal let us order pizza and we could check out if we wanted to.  We trickled out one by one once we realized there was nothing we could do but pray.  Our school system cancelled all after school activities..EVEN FOOTBALL PRACTICE.  That’s huge in Alabama.  My best friend and I went to wal-mart for some things that we really “needed” for homecoming.  Living in a community you have to go to TOWN to shop and there were people lined up for miles to get gas… of course I actually needed gas.  It was 94 cents. I remember praying so hard that night that GOD would watch over my family and our nation.  It was a very sobering week with mixed emotions.  That Friday night during the national anthem not a drop could be heard, a foot was not moved, and more than a few tears were shed as they raised the flag to half staff. September 11, 2001 will be a day that NO one will forget and that forever changed our lives and our country.