Remembering

Photo taken by Jessica Lanham

It's been ten years to the day and I still get goosebumps about what happened. I remember my sister calling me on the phone and telling me that we (the United States) were being attacked. She said that they struck in New York. I turned on the television and say the most horrific thing I could imagine, the Twin Towers were on fire. At the time I worked in an office building in Franklin and was completely scared out of my mind to go to work. 

Still, I got dressed and drove up to the school where my mom worked to see if she had heard. They only told her she was not allowed to turn on the TV, she didn't know anything else. I told her what had happened then left for work. I didn't want to leave her, I felt like I might not see her again. The only thing that keep me sane was knowing that my dad worked as a security guard just down the hall and if anything happened, I was 100% sure he would save me first. 

When I got to work there were people crowed in the lobby watching the news. I just wanted to go home where I knew I would be safe. I saw my dad and he came to check on me right when I got to work. I was only there for an hour before they told us to go home. I was so relieved. I never went back to work there again, I just couldn't imagine working in an office building after what happened. 

It took me about nine months to recover from what happened and actually get a good night's sleep. I was always thinking that any minute now something else was going to happen. Then I would think who would attack a small town in Tennessee. I was afraid to fly, afraid to drive, afraid to leave my family because I thought they could be gone at any minute.

I have actually been to the top of one of the towers. I think it was in eighth grade while on a church trip. There was a Sbarro's on the top floor of the one we went too. (At the time I worked for Sbarro's at the Galleria Mall.) The halls at the top were lined with some sort of cut out figures and my ears were popping all the way up to the 110th floor. I think of actresses and sports figures unique to New York. I just kept thinking about all the schools that were touring the building when went and what if a group of children were there at the time of the attacks. 

My favorite memory was putting money into the binoculars that were outside and looking up into the sky when a plane flew by,I was trying to peer inside the plane. I was so sure that since we were so high that I could actually see people inside the plane. I was able to make out figures, but a lot of the blinds were pulled down. Still, I was thrilled and scared at being so high off the ground.

I will always remember that day for the rest of my life. I am sure we all will. 

xoxo, am&a lynn ♥